Man accused of murdering Tacoma man bragged about robbing and killing him, charges say
A 22-year-old man shot then arrested by Tacoma police Tuesday was charged last week with fatally shooting a 40-year-old man at a motel in the city’s South End.
Charging documents don’t point to a clear motive for the Feb. 7 murder of Joshua Ferrell, but prosecutors wrote that a motel resident told police the victim was known to regularly deal drugs out of his room, and detectives learned that fentanyl and methamphetamine belonging to Ferrell were missing.
Jeremiah Pauulu Tusi was charged with first-degree murder Feb. 11 in Pierce County Superior Court. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest the same day.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday, but that court appearance could be pushed back. Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Adam Faber said Tusi had yet to be booked into jail as of Thursday morning.
Witness statements, surveillance video and calls to police helped detectives identify Tusi as the man believed to have shot and killed Ferrell. He was one of two men seen leaving the victim’s room at a motel in the 8800 block South Hosmer Street the day of the killing.
In charging documents, prosecutors wrote that police received several calls from people identifying Tusi as the man who shot Ferrell. Those callers also told police Tusi had been bragging about robbing and shooting him.
The defendant does not have a criminal history in Pierce County, according to court records.
When police arrested Tusi, he was found in a parking lot just about a tenth of a mile from where the victim was shot. Tusi led officers on a chase beyond the city limits and into Lakewood, crashing into multiple cars along the way.
Eventually, Tusi crashed into two vehicles near the intersection of South Tacoma Way and 88th Street South, and police shot him. Tusi was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The Pierce County Force Investigation Team is looking into the police shooting. The officer who shot him has not yet been identified.
Charging papers gave this account of events:
Tacoma Police Department officers were dispatched to Tacoma General Hospital at about 10 a.m. Feb. 7. Hospital staff reported that a man, later identified as Ferrell, died after being dropped off with a gunshot wound.
Police spoke with the woman who drove him there, and she said she had seen two people leave the victim’s room at a motel on South Hosmer Street, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause.
She had just driven into the parking lot of the Econo Lodge when she saw the men walk down the motel stairs and get into a maroon 1995 Lexus 300 ES and drive away.
The woman told police Ferrell came out of his room holding his neck and bleeding profusely. She noticed a trail of blood leading to the room. The two drove to the hospital.
At the motel, police spoke with more witnesses and retrieved nearby surveillance video. The woman who drove Ferrell to the hospital said that one of the men was distinctly taller than the other, and video of the men matched her description.
One motel resident described hearing “muffled bangs,” and seeing a 7-foot man leaving Ferrell’s room, according to the probable cause document. Another resident told police they heard the victim say, “Get out of here,” before the two men fled.
Prosecutors wrote that another resident who was familiar with both Ferrell and the defendant said Ferrell regularly dealt drugs out of his room and was often paid in stolen merchandise and cash. According to the probable cause document, detectives later learned that drugs were missing from the victim’s room.
That resident identified the shooter as the larger man who was at the apartment. Prosecutors wrote that the defendant, Tusi, is described in records as 6-foot-9 and weighing 300 pounds. Tusi also was identified in a photo montage as the person seen in the victim’s room.
