4 charged in fatal shooting in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood
Four people have been charged in the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood.
Pierce County prosecutors on Tuesday charged Jeremy Curts, 22; Lester Lewis, 35; Dijon Long, 19; and Armani Young, 17, with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and attempted first-degree robbery in the Jan. 18 death of Kieyree Spencer. All four pleaded not guilty at arraignment. Superior Court Judge Stanley Rumbaugh set bail at $1 million each for Curts and Long, and at $1.5 million for Lewis. Judge Edmund Murphy set bail at $1 million for Young.
The shooting took place in the 1800 block of South 15th Street.
Police say the four planned to rob Spencer and his friend of 35 grams of marijuana after arranging to buy some.
A 20-year-old man in the car with Spencer was shot and seriously injured.
Charging papers give this account of the homicide:
Police were called about 7:25 p.m. to a convenience store in the 1400 block of South Sprague Avenue after the 20-year-old victim sought help from employees.
He had been shot in the face, arm, shoulder and lower back, records say.
Officers followed the victim’s directions and a trail of blood to a Honda Accord parked on South 15th Street. Spencer was found inside the driver’s seat of the car, which was still running.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives found several .40 caliber shell casings near the Honda, and a 9 mm handgun on the car’s passenger seat. About 35 grams of marijuana were also found in the Honda.
“It does not appear from the recovered evidence that the 9 mm handgun found in the Honda was fired during this incident,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
Witnesses reported hearing up to a dozen gunshots, seeing three men running down the street and a Chevy Malibu fleeing the scene.
The surviving victim was “less than forthcoming about the incident,” records say.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed Lewis driving the Chevy Malibu and speaking with Long and Young before they went down the street toward South 15th Street, where Spencer eventually pulled up and stopped. The suspects approached the Honda then ran away, and the passenger in Spencer’s car was seen walking holding his arm.
After the suspects were arrested, Long admitted to arranging to buy marijuana from the victims so they could rob them.
Curts was armed with a .40 caliber handgun and allegedly shot Spencer and his friend. Young was also armed, records say.
Young was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after detectives found information on a flight to Chicago that he posted on his social media accounts.
Curts was arrested leaving his Tacoma home, and police recovered the gun believed to be used in the homicide.
He has prior convictions for third-degree assault and felony harassment, prosecutors say.
Staff writer Alexis Krell contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 12:48 PM.
