Tacoma man ran from gunman, was shot in back after going outside to smoke, charges say
A 51-year-old Tacoma man who was killed in a shooting earlier this month outside a South End apartment complex was shot in the back just minutes after he stepped outside to smoke late at night, according to court records.
Evans Vailolo, 35, was charged and arraigned Thursday in the Oct. 9 killing of Gregory Hughes. Charging documents offer some details about the moments before the 2:30 a.m. shooting, but it remains unclear why Hughes was targeted. The records show no connection between the two men aside from the fact that Vailolo lived at the apartment complex where Hughes was staying that night.
“I don’t feel like we’ll ever get no answers, you know,” Hughes’ nephew, Javontae Hughes, said outside the courtroom. “I can’t ask why.”
The defendant was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with two counts of second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Records say he has previously been convicted in Pierce County of criminal mischief in 2010 and first-degree theft in 2004.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on Vailolo’s behalf at arraignment, and court commissioner Philip Thornton set bail at $1 million. Speaking in court, Javontae Hughes asked that the defendant be held without bail.
“I just wanted to let him know that you took somebody from our family,” Javontae Hughes said. “He took somebody from my family. That’s all I have to say. I don’t feel like he should deserve bail.”
Outside the courtroom, Javontae Hughes said he came to court with the hope that he would be able to see Vailolo face to face. But the defendant appeared for arraignment via video. Hughes said he and his family are taking it day by day. He said it’s hard for him to see his father hurting over his brother’s killing.
Hughes was father to 9 children, loved his family
Family of Hughes who spoke with The News Tribune said he was a caring father who enjoyed sports and cooking at barbecues. He grew up in Tacoma and attended Stadium High School. The man’s sister-in-law, Katrina Hughes, 49, said he was always smiling and was always ready to help out a family member. He was known to many by his nickname “Pooh.”
“He would be the person that kept everybody together,” Katrina Hughes said.
Katrina Hughes said her brother-in-law worked as a carpenter doing home repairs and painting. She said he also enjoyed basketball and fishing. One day before Vailolo’s arrest, Katrina Hughes said family members gathered near where Hughes was shot to do a balloon release in his honor. She said the arrest took a huge pressure off the family, but now they’re left questioning why their loved one was killed.
“We’re all just devastated, and we don’t understand why,” Katrina Hughes said. “Because he was not a person to have enemies.”
Gunman shot victim in back as he ran
According to charging documents, Hughes was staying with a friend and coworker the day before the shooting at Fern Hill Terrace Apartments in the 200 block of South 80th Street, just off Pacific Avenue. That night, Hughes went outside to smoke at about 2:13 a.m., and 20 minutes later Hughes’ friend heard someone yell, “I live here, I live here,” followed by about five gunshots.
Tacoma Police Department officers found the victim on the ground between a parking lot and an apartment complex. He was declared dead at the scene.
The Pierce County medical examiner later found that Hughes died of multiple gunshot wounds to the back. A short trail of blood led officers from the victim’s body to the pipe he had been smoking and a cell phone. Investigators believe Hughes ran from the gunman and was shot.
Detectives used witness descriptions of a man seen walking away from the shooting scene and surveillance video from nearby businesses and residences to identify Vailolo as the alleged gunman. Among other witnesses who saw a man walking away from that area, two young men reported hearing gunshots and then seeing a man walk past them.
“The male said, ‘You like those shots? I got a whole bunch of them in my pocket,’” records state. “The male then quickened his pace and went west in the direction of the park that is located at the end of the street.”
Surveillance video from the Fern Hill apartments showed a man matching Vailolo’s description walking around the parking lot with another man about 10 minutes before the shooting.
It shows the spot where Hughes was eventually found, and at 2:27 a.m., there was nothing there. The next available video clip begins at about 2:30 a.m., according to the probable cause document, and it allegedly shows a backpack on the ground that the victim had been wearing and Vailolo walking away, lighting a cigarette. Records say that surveillance footage from across the street shows no one approaching the apartment complex within a half-hour of the shooting. Detectives believe the gunman came from inside the apartments.
Records also mention that the defendant’s storage unit was broken into at about 2:20 a.m. Shortly after is when Vailolo is reportedly seen on camera walking around the parking lot with another person. According to the probable cause document, Vailolo filed an online report at 4 a.m. indicating that the lock was broken, and that a stroller and other items were taken.
Vailolo was arrested without incident Oct. 18. Detectives searched his residence but did not find the firearm used in the shooting.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
