Man charged in fatal Tacoma shooting said ‘homeless ... should be killed,’ records say
A Tacoma woman figured out her son had fatally shot a man at a homeless encampment and went to police with her suspicions, according to court documents.
On Friday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Nickolas Rojas, 21, with first-degree murder and second-degree murder for the Sept. 25 death of Diego Escalante, 31. Rojas was scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
Police say the men did not know each other, and Escalante appeared to be a random victim.
Several witnesses called 911 about 1:30 a.m. Sept. 25 after hearing multiple gunshots just west of a homeless encampment near East 38th Street and East McKinley Avenue. They gave officers a description of a man they saw running away.
Escalante was found sitting in a chair inside the camp with his feet propped up on several pallets. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Medical examiners determined Escalante had been shot once in the neck and twice in the arm, which also pierced his torso.
Sixteen shell casings from a 9mm handgun were recovered from the scene, records say.
Charging papers give this account what happened after the homicide:
On Oct. 28, Rojas’ mother went to see Tacoma detectives.
She “reported that she read about the murder on social media the day after it happened and had a gut feeling her son was responsible,” prosecutors wrote in an affidavit.
The Rojas lived nine blocks from the homeless encampment, and Rojas often walked to a convenience store in the area.
His mother allegedly told police Rojas was mentally unstable and violent as a child and harbored a hatred for people who are unhoused. He had made past remarks about how “homeless are useless and should be killed,” records say.
Rojas, who bought a Glock 9mm handgun in June, got drunk the night after the shooting and told his father “that he did something terrible,” according to charging papers.
He allegedly asked his parents if they would still love him if he killed someone but denied saying that when he sobered up.
Detectives searched Rojas’ home and found a Glock 9mm pistol and rain jacket that matched the description of one worn by the shooter, records say.
Forensics technicians matched the 16 shell casings recovered from the homeless camp to Rojas’ gun, prosecutors said.
He was arrested Wednesday and declined to speak with police.
This story was originally published December 3, 2021 at 11:48 AM.
