‘Such a senseless offense’: Man sentenced after fatal shooting at Hosmer Street motel
A 21-year-old man convicted of fatally shooting a woman outside a South End Tacoma motel was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison in what the judge in the case called “such a senseless offense.”
Nazieere D’Michael Thomas was charged with killing Desiree Carlisle, 42, on July 23, 2022, as she sat in a car parked outside a motel at 8820 S. Hosmer St. A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in October, court records show.
Thomas, whose criminal history included 20 cases referred to prosecutors and convictions for fourth-degree assault and witness tampering, was given a sentence stronger than the state’s recommendation of 45 years.
“This was such a senseless offense,” Pierce County Superior Court Judge Alicia Burton said.
The prosecution said Thomas had refused to take responsibility for what he did.
Thomas’ defense attorney, Kent Underwood, argued for a 25-year sentence, calling the state’s recommendation “simply too draconian.” He said Thomas understood his actions were wrong and noted that the several people who attended the sentencing were evidence of his family support.
Speaking during the hearing, Thomas said he didn’t know Carlisle.
“I still can’t believe I’m even in this predicament right now,” he said, before apologizing to Carlisle’s family and his own. ”This was not meant to happen nor was this planned.”
Three people who had been with Carlisle reported seeing a car circle the motel area before they were shot at as the car passed by, according to charging papers. Detectives later traced the vehicle — a stolen rental car — to Thomas, who was arrested following a pursuit.
Thomas’ sentencing accounted for other convictions, including taking a motor vehicle without permission and second-degree robbery, which stemmed from an incident involving a victim at a gas station more than a week prior to the shooting.
Two family members who attended Friday’s hearing on behalf of Carlisle declined to comment.
In a victim-impact statement filed in court last month, Carlisle’s daughter, Makalya Briggs, described the “devastating pain” she felt after learning her mom had been killed.
Carlisle had been the person who held the family together and kept it strong, according to Briggs.
“I feel so lost in this world without her. I am writing this letter in hopes my mom’s name and my family’s pain is heard because we deserve it,” she wrote. “My mom deserves true justice for what was done to her and I pray she gets it today.”
