Fatal Spanaway shooting left victim ‘simply covered in gunshot wounds,’ charges say
A man shot to death outside a Spanaway garage on New Year’s Eve “was simply covered in gunshot wounds throughout his body,” according to court documents.
Medical examiners identified the victim as Jim Gastelum, 31.
Pierce County prosecutors on Tuesday charged Antonio DeJesus Espinoza, 28, with first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in connected with Gastelum’s death.
He was expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
Detectives are still trying to figure out why Espinoza killed Gastelum. Although suspected narcotics were found in Espinoza’s garage, investigators have not determined a motive for the killing.
Charging papers give this account of the homicide:
Espinoza was in his garage in the 21600 block of 41st Avenue East when a sedan pulled up and Gastelum got out.
The two men spoke for a few minutes, then Espinoza’s father said he saw Espinoza shoot Gastelum. The father ran to a neighbor’s house and asked them to call 911.
Neighbors reported hearing at least six gunshots.
When deputies arrived, Espinoza and the woman who dropped off Gastelum were gone. Gastelum was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, where he was pronounced dead.
Several expended .45-caliber shell casings, money, suspected narcotics and medications were allegedly found in the garage.
“There were shell casings, money, and fired bullets both inside and outside of the garage suggesting two different locations where shots were fired at the victim,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
Evidence shows Gastelum was shot while he was standing up and also after he fell onto the ground, records say.
While detectives were investigating the shooting, the woman who dropped off Gastelum returned to the scene and told detectives Espinoza held her at gunpoint and forced her to drive him to an apartment complex, where he found another ride.
At the time of the shooting, Espinoza was wearing an electronic home-monitoring device after being charged in a March 2021 domestic violence incident where he allegedly beat and threatened to kill his girlfriend. That incident ended in a SWAT standoff.
Espinoza cut off the device after shooting Gastelum, records say.
He turned himself in Tuesday with the assistance of an attorney and was arrested. Deputies allegedly found numerous fentanyl laced pills on him at the time.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 12:54 PM.
