A fatal shooting at a Tacoma house appeared to be over a woman, records say
A fatal shooting at a Tacoma house last October appeared to be over a woman.
On Friday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Jeffrey Klier, 42, with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment. Superior Court Judge Matthew Thomas set bail at $1 million.
James Wamsley, also 42, was killed Oct. 1 at a friend’s home in the 7600 block of South J Street.
By the time police were called to the scene, the gunman had fled. Three people at the house deliberately did not list Klier as one of the people who were in the home at the time of the shooting, records say.
Charging papers give this account of the homicide:
One of the men who lived in the house admitted to dealing drugs and estimated there were at least 20 people in and out of the home every day.
At the time Wamsley was shot, there were at least seven people in one of the bedrooms.
Wamsley and Klier started arguing, then it turned into a physical fight, records say.
Klier allegedly shot Wamsley once in the chest.
There was a 12-minute gap between the shooting and when someone called 911, prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
Detectives were able to identify Klier using a street name and booking photo.
In late December, Klier was arrested outside a Federal Way motel on a state Department of Corrections warrant. While in jail, authorities listened in on his phone conversations with his ex-wife, who at one point assured him she had picked up his dog and “the important thing,” records say.
Tacoma police searched the ex-wife’s house and recovered a revolver and Klier’s cell phone.
Klier has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing a gun.
Forensic experts analyzed Klier’s cell phone and found several text messages with his ex-wife. He told her that he is “probably gonna go to prison forever,” admitted to killing a man and talked about returning to his home state of Massachusetts.
The texts indicate Klier shot Wamsley because he believed Wamsley harmed his ex-wife, but police said there is no evidence of that.
Staff writer Alexis Krell contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 10:51 AM.
