Second man charged in September shooting that killed security guard outside Tacoma club
A second man has been charged with a shooting that killed a person outside a Tacoma lounge in September.
Jerzell Martwon White, 31, was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm by Pierce County prosecutors. White, along with co-defendant Keenan David Blakely, 33, is accused of being responsible for the death of Joseph Briggs in the 5200 block of South Tacoma Way.
Prosecutors wrote in the charging documents that White allegedly assisted Blakely during the shooting while being armed himself. He is also accused of driving Blakely to and from the crime scene.
White was arrested on Tuesday and booked into Pierce County Jail, according to jail records.
A plea of not guilty was entered on White’s behalf at his arraignment at Pierce County Superior Court on Thursday. White is being held on a $1 million bail.
Blakely was charged on Oct. 5 with two counts of second-degree murder, second-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. His bail was set at $1.5 million. On an unrelated matter, Blakely was charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm charge for a June 30, 2022, incident. His bail for that case was set for $100,000. Blakely is being held at Pierce County Jail, according to a previous News Tribune story.
Details of the Shooting
On Sept. 10, Tacoma Police Department officers were dispatched to an incident at 2:01 a.m. where a person was shot outside a lounge. The victim, later identified as Briggs, was lying on the ground in the parking lot. He was shot multiple times in the chest and later declared dead at the scene, according to charging documents.
A witness told officers that she was trying to help her sister, who was getting beat up by three men. Another witness said she was walking out of the club when she saw the men “heckling” the two women and attempted to help. She was then attacked and “pistol-whipped.” Briggs came out of the club, where he worked as a security guard. He was off-duty at the time of the incident. Briggs tried to help the women and attempted to break up the fight, prosecutors wrote.
Video surveillance allegedly showed Briggs fighting a man, later identified as Blakely. A man, later identified as White, allegedly approached Briggs, who had Blakely in a headlock, and pointed a gun at his head. Another witness who was also a security guard approached White, but the gun was then allegedly pointed at him so he backed off, prosecutors wrote.
A witness told detectives that Briggs was then shot multiple times.
The shooting was not captured on camera, but video shows witnesses ducking and running away. Blakely was seen walking away, and White, still allegedly armed, ran to his Dodge Challenger and drove off. Prosecutors wrote that detectives ran the numbers of the license plate shown on the video and discovered White to be the owner. Detectives also obtained White’s cell number and determined that the phone was in the area of the shooting at the time of the incident, court documents show.
Detectives obtained Blakely’s cell records and found that he and White had a phone conversation after the shooting. White’s cell records showed that he allegedly traveled to an area where Blakely’s last known address was after the incident, court documents show.
Prosecutors wrote that White allegedly picked up Blakely and took him to his home following the incident.
