JBLM soldier pleads guilty to murder for brutalizing security guard in downtown Tacoma
An active-duty soldier formerly stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord pleaded guilty Friday to brutally beating a security guard to death at a financial building in downtown Tacoma.
Spc. Patrick Philip Byrne, 29, was a U.S. Army Ranger assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment when he was accused in July 2021 of attacking Denise Smith, 41, at 909 A St. According to court records, Smith worked just five shifts at the 12-story building before she was killed.
Byrne pleaded guilty to first-degree murder before Pierce County Superior Court Judge Garold Johnson. In a written statement, the defendant admitted to fatally assaulting Smith while in the commission of a burglary. Charges of first-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree kidnapping and a more serious first-degree murder charge were dropped as part of a plea agreement.
A sentencing hearing was set for May 10. Byrne faces a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. The standard sentencing range for defendants prosecuted in similar cases is 20 to 26 years in prison.
Byrne said little during the hearing except to answer Johnson’s standard questions about whether he understood the rights he waived by pleading guilty. He will continue to be held without bail in Pierce County Jail until he is sentenced.
Defense attorneys from the Department of Assigned Counsel made a motion to the court asking that news media not be allowed to photograph Byrne’s face during the hearing. David Katayama said as an Army Ranger, the defendant had operations overseas, and it was in his interest to not be photographed. The judge denied the motion.
A spokesperson for Byrne’s battalion told The News Tribune on Friday that the soldier remained on active duty. When Byrne was accused of Smith’s murder, prosecutors said the Army had plans to discharge him. The spokesperson did not have information about whether Byrne will be discharged now that he has pleaded guilty.
Byrne entered the Army as an infantryman in March 2019. He was assigned to the battalion after completing the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program in July 2020.
Smith was from Seattle and graduated from Rainier Beach High School in 1998, according to her obituary. She then attended Renton Technical College, where she earned her associate’s degree in healthcare management.
“Denise smile could brighten up even the darkest days and her laugh was just so contagious and one of a kind,” the obituary states.
Court records describe drunken beating downtown
Byrne was out drinking with friends the night of July 17 when he got into a bar fight and was punched in the face, according to charging documents. Records state he then walked in the direction of A Street. Smith had gone outside to speak with a homeless woman and went back into the building when Byrne approached the door.
Smith motioned for him to leave, but he didn’t. She then opened the front door and Byrne tried to barge past her. Smith grabbed his shirt to stop him, and that’s when Byrne started beating her.
The attack went on for 8 to 10 minutes, records state. The soldier dragged the woman by her hair, pummeled her with blows, stabbed her in the face with her keys and used them to try to gouge out the woman’s eyes. He then flipped Smith onto her stomach and choked her until she went limp, then continued to choke her for another minute or two.
Her body was found early Sunday morning when a fellow security guard showed up for work and found the front door propped open. Smith was bleeding and unconscious, and paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Surveillance footage from the building that showed the attack helped Tacoma Police Department detectives identify Byrne as Smith’s attacker.
After he attacked Smith, Byrne walked into a nearby conference room and tried to smash out a window with a chair. Blood was found in the room. Then Byrne went back to the building’s lobby and threw around furniture and other items.
Byrne then exited the building and fell or jumped from a ledge 14-feet above street level. He was eventually brought to an area hospital where detectives interviewed him. Byrne reportedly had no memory of the attack, telling detectives he remembered blacking out after drinking at a bar and then woke up in the hospital.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 4:12 PM.
