Suspected drug dealer charged in fatal shooting of woman on Spanaway road

A suspected drug dealer fatally shot a woman and left her lying in a Spanaway road last week because he suspected her of stealing up to $15,000 in cash and narcotics, court documents say.

Brian King, 39, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder and possession of a stolen firearm in connection with the Oct. 12 death of Krystal Storm LeBoeuf, 28.

Bail was set at $2 million.

LeBoeuf was shot four times, once in the head and three times in the torso, according to an autopsy report.

Prosecutors said they plan to charge King with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver once investigators have identified all the drugs found in King’s home when he was arrested.

When King was arrested Friday, sheriff’s deputies said they found him cleaning a Volkswagen Jetta that looked similar to a vehicle caught on surveillance camera picking up LeBoeuf the night she died.

Charging papers give this account of LeBoeuf‘s homicide:

Passersby spotted LeBoeuf lying on the side of the road near 208th Street East and Mountain Highway East and stopped to check on her.

LeBoeuf was still alive, moving her hands and trying to speak, but they couldn’t understand what she was saying.

After the passersby called 911, paramedics tried to save LeBoeuf but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies recovered surveillance footage from a nearby building, which showed the shooting.

A vehicle could be seen pulling into a gravel pullout at the intersection and the headlights were turned off.

“It appeared to some detectives that a shot was fired inside of the vehicle and the victim stumbled out of the car,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.

A man in a hooded sweatshirt could be seen getting out of the car, followed by two muzzle flashes, then the man got back into vehicle and drove away, records say.

Detectives noticed a second vehicle in the area at the time of the last two gunshots.

The sedan “is within feet of where the victim was found, and the occupant(s) and must have heard the shots being fired, or witnessed the event,” records say.

It’s unknown who was in that vehicle.

Investigators recovered LeBoeuf‘s cellphone from the scene and found she was texting simultaneously with three people shortly before her death.

One was King, one appeared to be the person who actually stole King’s drugs and money and the third was somebody detectives believe was trying to get LeBoeuf to confess to the theft, court documents say.

“The messages indicate that the victim was afraid to meet with the defendant at the defendant’s request because the victim and ‘AWOL’ were being accused of stealing heroin, fentanyl powder and ‘blues’ from the defendant while he was asleep,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers. “AWOL was refusing to give the victim a cut of the drugs that he has/had, and was refusing to give her a cut of the money he obtained from selling them.”

LeBoeuf allegedly arranged for King to pick her up at Spanaway High School and surveillance footage shows her getting into a Volkswagen Jetta like King’s.

After King was arrested, he allegedly admitted that LeBoeuf recently lived with him and he was angry with her because he suspected she and somebody else stole from him.

King said he picked LeBoeuf up the night she died and drove to an area near his brother’s house, but he hadn’t seen her since she got out of his car and started walking away.

Investigators played some of the surveillance footage of the shooting for King, which included LeBoeuf screaming.

“When the defendant watched and listened to the video, he hung his head low, put his hands on his forehead and began to cry,” records say.

A search of King’s house yielded heroin, methamphetamine and unidentified pills packaged for sale; a Ruger 10-22 rifle reported stolen from Tacoma; a hooded sweatshirt similar to the one worn by the shooter; a 9mm cartridge; and a note that read, “Some shit went down. Find her.”

In his Jetta, deputies said they found another 9mm cartridge and cleaning supplies.

No blood was found in the Jetta, records say.

This isn’t the first time King has been in trouble with the law.

He was charged earlier this year with first-degree burglary for allegedly assaulting a woman while armed.

King failed to appear in court in connection with that case and has eight violations for failing to appear, according to court records.

This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 2:45 PM.