At 17, she shot her girlfriend’s ex in Tacoma. Now she’ll serve 7 years in custody
An 18-year-old woman accused of shooting her girlfriend’s ex-partner in Eastside Tacoma has been sentenced after pleading guilty to two related charges, court records show.
Amiyah Lashell-Marie Braxton was charged in January 2023 with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm, but pleaded guilty only to the latter two charges last month in Pierce County Superior Court.
Braxton, convicted as an adult for a felony committed under the age of 18, was sentenced Dec. 11 to more than seven years in the custody of the state’s Department of Children, Youth & Families, court records show.
Braxton, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, will remain in DCYF custody until she turns 25 and then be required to fulfill three years of community custody, according to court records.
She was credited with nearly a year for time served and must pay $1,972 in restitution to the victim.
Braxton was accused of shooting a woman in the 5400 block of Mcdacer Avenue on Jan. 1, 2023. The victim was reportedly shot three times and told officers that Braxton did it, charging papers show. The victim suffered life-threatening wounds to her spleen and diaphragm but recovered, according to a filing in the case.
The shooting stemmed from an apparent domestic dispute. One of two witnesses who heard a gunshot and drove the victim to the hospital told police that the victim once dated Braxton’s girlfriend. The witness said they were aware that the victim and Braxton “had a beef with each other,” according to charging papers.
Braxton’s girlfriend, who claimed to not know that the victim had arrived at her house, told officers that she was abused by the victim while they were dating and “she showed officers a text message from the victim where the victim threatened to shoot her,” charging papers show.
Braxton’s sentencing fell below the standard range for such convictions but the court found it appropriate due to multiple factors.
A filing days before Braxton’s sentencing, in which the prosecution and defense agreed to facts of the case, revealed that Braxton was subjected to “a chaotic childhood,” she suffered from mental health and chemical dependency issues, and the victim’s threats and actions indicated that the victim “to a significant degree … was the initiator, willing participant, aggressor, or provoker of the incident.”
Braxton’s defense attorney declined to comment on the sentencing when reached by phone.
Braxton was previously convicted in juvenile court in 2022 of second-degree robbery, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, court records show.
