Man brought dog with him when he fatally shot business owner in Tacoma, charges say
A man has been arrested after a business owner was found fatally shot in his car on President’s Day in Tacoma.
Jerry Espana Davila, 39, was arrested Thursday outside the Humane Society of Tacoma & Pierce County in the killing of a 65-year-old man. Pierce County prosecutors charged Davila with two counts of second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show.
The identity of the 65-year-old man has yet to be released by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Davila’s behalf at his Friday arraignment. A Pierce County Superior Court commissioner set his bail at $1.5 million.
Incident Details
Tacoma police officers were dispatched on Monday at 12:35 p.m. for reports of a shooting at the intersection of South Center Street and South M Street. Witnesses were standing near a white Hyundai Tuscon parked in the 1200 block of South 28th Street. The Hyundai’s front right and left windows were shattered. Inside the car was an unresponsive man sitting in the front passenger seat, charging documents show.
The man’s feet were on the driver’s seat, and it appeared he had suffered gunshot wounds to the head. It appeared that he had been trying to get away from the driver’s side of the vehicle when he was shot. A firearm was found in the front passenger side of the car. It was later determined he was shot two times in the head, prosecutors wrote.
A witness told officers he noticed the Hyundai at about 10:05 a.m. and that it stood out because of its broken windows. It was also the only car on the block. The witness and two other people with him checked on the car and discovered the deceased man. They then called 911, prosecutors wrote.
Officers discovered that the victim was the owner of an auto body shop, prosecutors wrote.
Through surveillance footage, detectives saw that the man drove his Hyundai onto 28th street and pulled into an auto dealership parking lot at around 5:58 a.m. A minute later, the suspect, later identified as Davila, was seen exiting a Toyota Sienna minivan. Davila walked behind the man’s Hyundai, which was now backing out of the dealership parking lot, prosecutors wrote.
The man did a U-turn and parked in front of the dealership’s office on South Tacoma Way. He stayed in the Hyundai. Davila was seen walking behind the building with a younger black lab mix. He walked into the light at one point so his face was slightly visible. Davila allegedly walked over to the Hyundai and passed by it. He did passed by again and then walked from the passenger side to the driver’s side, prosecutors wrote.
The dog was circling with him. When Davila approached driver’s side of the Hyundai, there’s a “disturbance” seen on camera, indicating the shooting, prosecutors wrote. The driver’s door of the Hyundai opens, and then “lunges” a bit. At the same time, the dog flinches when the first shot was fired. The dog flinches again, indicating a second shot was fired. Davila shut the Hyundai’s door and tried to grab the dog, which ran away. Davila then jumped into the minivan and drives off. The dog was seen walking into the street, prosecutors wrote.
Detectives learned on Thursday that a black lab was brought to the Humane Society after it was hit by a car at Warner and South Tacoma Way. They were also told the owner was trying to pick up the dog. The owner is Davila’s ex-girlfriend. Detectives ran a records check on Davila and noted his description matched the suspect in the fatal shooting. Detectives went to the Humane Society because they believed the black lab was the same one from the shooting, prosecutors wrote.
At about 5:10 p.m. detectives were told that the ex-girlfriend was at the Humane Society trying to pick up her dog. When detectives arrived, they noticed a man who matched the physical description of the shooting suspect there. When detectives saw his face, they identified him as the suspect. Several marked patrol cars moved in, and officers took Davila into custody, prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors wrote that they spoke to the ex-girlfriend who said that Davila had the dog for several days prior to the shooting. She contacted Davila to ask where her dog was. He said the dog was at the shelter.
The ex-girlfriend said he disappeared for a few days prior to Feb. 20. He later said the dog ran away and would not explain where he was when that happened. She thought he was high when she spoke to him. When she asked him where he was when her dog ran away, he responded with some “random crazy things” and accused her of setting him up, prosecutors wrote.
Davila declined to answer any questions after his arrest. He has prior felony convictions for third-degree assault and second-degree malicious mischief, court records show.
