Gig Harbor shooting might have been in retaliation for 2021 homicide, charges say
Two men are accused of firing at a vehicle in Gig Harbor in 2023 in retaliation for the 2021 murder of 19-year-old Tyrone Sero.
Demondrae Jones, 20, and Rocco Anthony Fanara, 19, have been charged in Pierce County with two counts of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting for the June 6, 2023, incident. Prosecutors wrote in charging documents that no one was injured.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on Jones’ and Fanara’s behalves during their arraignments Dec. 30. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner pro tempore Meagan Foley set their individual bails at $500,000, court records show.
Prosecutors wrote that the victims were siblings of Kannon Anthony Stephens, who was one of three people convicted in Sero’s murder in Port Orchard. The siblings might have been targeted as a retaliatory attack linked to an ongoing gang-related conflict between their family and a group from Port Orchard.
Stephens was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for his role in Sero’s murder, documents show.
Charging details
Gig Harbor officers and Pierce County deputies were dispatched at 9:34 p.m. that day to the 3700 block of Hunt Street and the 3800 block of 61st Street Court Northwest to reports of a possible drive-by shooting, according to charging documents.
In an initial interview, the siblings, a man and a juvenile girl, said they went to a Chipotle Grill on Point Forsdick Drive between 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. One of them told police in an interview there was a group of men in the Chipotle when they arrived. Some of them were wearing face masks and bandannas, prosecutors wrote.
When the siblings finished picking up their order, the group was no longer in the restaurant, prosecutors wrote.
As the siblings drove away, they noticed a car aggressively following them as they turned north onto 38th Avenue, prosecutors wrote. When they made a U-Turn on Hunt Street, one of the siblings said, two cars approached them from the other direction at a high rate of speed.
The girl noticed a man wearing a face mask, leaning out of a one of the car’s driver side windows. He pointed a black handgun at them and began firing, prosecutors wrote. The siblings then drove off.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed that Fanara and Jones were part of the group that was inside the restaurant when the siblings arrived, prosecutors wrote. Further footage showed that the group went to the parking lot, but one person returned to the Chipotle and monitored the siblings for a minute.
A relative of the siblings spoke to officers and said the shooting might have been a targeted attack linked to the conflict between the victims’ family and a Port Orchard group, prosecutors wrote.
In a later interview, the brother said when the vehicles approached his vehicle, he stated that he knew he was going to be shot at. He also identified one of shooters as Fanara, prosecutors wrote. The brother said he recognized Fanara from social media and gatherings with mutual friends.
The brother said that as he was continuing to drive away, he “heard and felt shots hitting the car,” prosecutors wrote. He and his sister parked at a house on 61st Street Court where he got a firearm, prosecutors wrote. As he was going back to his vehicle, one of the cars allegedly fired more shots as it drove by. The brother said he only fired two rounds and surrendered his handgun to police for ballistics testing.
Ballistics results allegedly showed that Fanara’s DNA was associated with one of the 9 mm magazines that police found at the scene, prosecutors wrote.
Detectives spoke to Fanara and Jones, arresting them on Dec. 27 during a high-risk traffic stop in Gig Harbor, document show.
In an interview with Fanara, he initially denied his involvement but then allegedly admitted his intent was to “scare” one of the siblings, prosecutors wrote. He said he “thought” he saw the brother holding a “shiny” firearm from his vehicle. Fanara allegedly admitted to firing multiple rounds and said his magazine fell onto the pavement.
The driver of the one of the cars identified as being involved in the shooting confirmed that Jones was a passenger in the car and fired several shots, prosecutors wrote.
Jones initially denied being involved during an interview with detectives, but allegedly later said he was a passenger in one of the vehicles and fired three shots at the victims. He indicated that he knew of the victims’ family and was friends with Sero before his murder.
Editors’ note: This story has been updated to reflect the true nature of the dispute.
This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 10:00 AM.
