Man was robbed, chased through Eastside Tacoma alley before fatal shooting, charges say
A 27-year-old man was robbed of a necklace and a bicycle in Eastside Tacoma before he was chased down by three people and fatally shot, according to murder charges filed Friday.
Adolfo Angel Gabriel-Miguel, 29, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with two counts of second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the July 4 killing of Alec Mercado. The defendant’s brother, David Noe Gabriel-Miguel, 20, was also charged with second-degree murder. A third suspect has not been arrested, according to police.
Charging documents allege that Adolfo Gabriel-Miguel shot the victim once in an alley near the 2000 block of East 39th Street, in the Salishan neighborhood. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, Mercado tried to confront Gabriel-Miguel and the two others after his necklace and a bicycle were taken, and he picked up a rock just before he was shot.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on behalf of both defendants Friday afternoon. Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set bail at $1 million. According to court records, neither defendant has any prior felony convictions.
Tacoma Police Department detectives used witness statements and surveillance video to identify Adolfo and David Gabriel-Miguel as suspects, according to the probable cause document. In interviews with detectives, Adolfo allegedly admitted to taking the victim’s necklace and shooting him with a 9mm handgun reportedly given to him by his younger brother.
Investigators found the weapon in David Gabriel-Miguel’s bedroom after serving a search warrant at the defendants’ house about a half-mile from the scene, records state.
Weeks after the shooting, family and friends of Mercado organized a vigil, according to KIRO 7. His mother told the television station her son was a sweet and caring person.
Charging documents gave this account:
Officers were called to the St. Joseph Medical Center at about 10:50 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Outside, they met Mercado’s mother, who said her son was being treated inside. She said he may have been jumped before he was shot, and she reportedly begged his attackers not to do it.
While officers were speaking with her, hospital staff came outside and informed the mother her son had died. Records state the bullet hit him in the abdomen and exited his back.
In a subsequent interview with detectives, the mother said Mercado came to her house about 90 minutes before the shooting and said he’d been robbed of his bicycle and necklace at gunpoint. She said her son was upset. He asked her to go with him to get his property back, but she refused to confront someone with a firearm.
Mercado left the residence, his mother said, and a short time later he came running back through an alley behind her house while he was chased by several people. According to the probable cause document, the mother said she went outside and pleaded with them, stating that no one needed to go to jail or die, but she said her son kept inciting a fight. She said the suspects ran away, and Mercado chased them, picked up a rock and was shot.
The mother said she tried CPR and other family members tried calling 911, but they couldn’t get through to anyone, possibly because of high call volume on the July 4 holiday. Instead they loaded him into a car and drove him to the hospital.
Detectives also interviewed the victim’s grandmother, who gave a similar account. Nearby surveillance video captured most of it. According to the probable cause document, the three suspects are seen chasing Mercado through the alley at about 10:24 p.m. One suspect appeared armed.
Two minutes later, Mercado is seen chasing the suspects. Video allegedly shows Adolfo Gabriel-Miguel pointing a gun at Mercado, who picked up a rock larger than a softball, ran at Gabriel-Miguel and was shot.
The three suspects ran off. A witness reportedly told police he saw them run north on East T Street, then lost sight of them in bushes. He said he was driving at the time, and some time later he saw the suspects drive away in a silver Honda.
Police arrested Adolfo and David Gabriel-Miguel on Aug. 16. In an interview, Adolfo allegedly said Mercado had been riding around on a bicycle and yelling. Adolfo told police several men in a truck were trying to run Mercado over, and those men told him Mercado had been stealing things in the neighborhood. Adolfo said he and his brother started following Mercado, then took his necklace. The defendant denied intending to kill the victim and said he just wanted to scare him.
David Gabriel-Miguel also spoke with police, and he allegedly said he and his brother were looking for a man on a stolen bike. According to the probable cause document, David said they saw Mercado, chased him, and then the victim came around a corner and the shooting occurred.
