Man convicted of fatal shooting in Tacoma apartment sentenced for second-degree murder
A man accused of being part of a home-invasion robbery in Tacoma that ended with a 24-year-old man shot to death in his apartment in 2018 has been sentenced.
Perris-Karlton L. Daniel III, 29, was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison in Pierce County Superior Court for second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree assault. The length of the prison sentence is in the middle of the standard sentencing range for such cases.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges in November as part of a plea agreement. In his statement, Daniel said he was not guilty of the crimes but that he believed he would be convicted of more serious charges if his case proceeded to trial.
Daniel and another man, Da’ron Lemar Jackson-Warren, were charged with the murder of Jawuan Swift. Jackson-Warren pleaded guilty Nov. 18 to second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree assault. He is to be sentenced Friday.
Swift was shot by one of the men in the early hours of Jan. 17, 2018 after they kicked in his apartment door in the 600 block of South Steele Street, according to charging documents.
The victim was asleep in a bedroom with his girlfriend and her 5-year-old child when the incident began about 2:30 a.m. Swift’s girlfriend heard the front door being kicked in and their dog growling as if someone was inside.
Swift went to see what was happening, and when he opened the bedroom door, two men were standing in front of him, each armed with a gun. One of the men shot Swift in the chest and he fell to the ground. He died at the scene.
The men demanded money, and Swift’s girlfriend gave them about $2,000. Both men wore ski masks, but the girlfriend noted one man’s distinctive eyes.
She found a picture of the man on Facebook and identified him to law enforcement. He was later identified as Jackson-Warren.
Surveillance video near the apartment building captured the vehicle the suspects used in the robbery. It showed them appearing to scope out the apartment building about an hour beforehand. The video allowed detectives to trace a license plate number on the car.
Police obtained search warrants to scour cell phone records and social media activity. Using calls and cell phone towers, detectives were able to track Jackson-Warren’s and Daniel’s movements the day of the killing.
Daniel was arrested in December 2018.
This story was originally published December 6, 2021 at 12:08 PM.
