Judge says Tacoma man’s recruitment of teens to commit murder betrayed community
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A judge sentenced Isiah Martin to 61 years for directing teens in 2023 murder.
- Jurors found Martin led plot against 16-year-old Larry "Trae" Marshall in Tacoma shooting.
- Family, prosecution condemned Martin's role as a misleading influence on youth.
A Tacoma man was sentenced Friday to nearly 61 years in prison after he was convicted last month of directing two teenage boys to murder 16-year-old Larry “Trae” Marshall III as revenge for being robbed by the victim’s friends.
Before Pierce County Superior Court Judge Philip Sorensen handed down that punishment, Isiah Davon Martin, 31, told Marshall’s family — who sat in the courtroom gallery — that he wanted to express his deepest condolences to them, but that what happened was from a “split decision” made by two young people, and he had no control over the devastating moments that followed.
Sorensen did not take Martin’s words well. He said the jury had concluded, and the evidence to him was clear, that Martin was the director of the conspiracy to kill Marshall.
“This community needs adults that will help kids see right from wrong, that will help kids do what needs to be done to keep themselves and this community safe,” Sorensen said. “To me, this is the worst kind of betrayal to this community that we could have.”
Sorensen said the defense’s pleadings indicated that Martin’s participation in the crimes was the result of circumstances beyond his control and the influence of others, stating that his life story was one of “genuine transformation” from a victim to a mentor (Martin was previously injured in a shooting that left him paraplegic).
In so many words, Sorensen said Martin being a mentor was the most dangerous part of the ordeal. His words echoed deputy prosecuting attorney Brad Hashimoto’s last argument to the judge recommending a high-end sentence.
Hashimoto said he’d read all of the letters written in support of Martin, and almost every one talked about what a great leader Martin is.
“Mr. Martin was the only adult in that vehicle, and he’s the only person in that vehicle with motive” Hashimoto said. “He led these kids to do something terrible.”
The two teenagers who shot and killed Marshall on March 29, 2023, after being driven to Lakeside Landing Apartments, Devonte Pool and Vincent Bradley III, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in October. Both were sentenced to 20 years. Martin’s defense attorney, Nicholas Franz, asked that his client get the same amount of time.
Martin was convicted by a jury June 18 of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The last two counts were vacated at sentencing. The verdict came after a 14-day jury trial.
During trial, jurors heard about how Martin was robbed at gunpoint by Marshall’s friends four days before the shooting. The robbery took place at the Tacoma Mall while Martin was getting a haircut, and afterward Marshall and his friends mocked Martin on Instagram.
In closing arguments, Hashimoto said Martin spent the following days identifying who had mugged him and scoping out the apartment complex in Tacoma’s West End neighborhood until he saw someone he wanted to kill.
According to Hashimoto, it was just Marshall’s bad luck that he was seen first. The primary targets, Hashimoto wrote in his sentencing memorandum, were the three kids who robbed Martin, and evidence showed Martin, Pool and Bradley agreed to kill someone.
Marshall’s father, mother and one of his two sisters spoke during Friday’s sentencing hearing. All of them commented on how cowardly or just plain dangerous to society it was that an adult would direct the murder of a 16-year-old boy.
The victim’s mother, Jillian Marshall, wore a pink T-shirt during the hearing that said “Long Live Trae” with a photo of him printed on the front. Her son was the middle child, but she said he was his sisters’ protector.
“Today makes 800 days since I last heard him say, ‘Mom, I love you,’” Jillian Marshall said. “800 days since I felt his hug, heard his laugh, watched him walk through the door. Now all I have are memories, pictures in an empty room.”
Marshall’s older sister, Brianna, who turns 21 next year, told Sorensen that it was her third time speaking in court for her brother.
“To sit in this courtroom, and we’ve gone through this for years and years, and we’re just now finally getting the peace and the justice,” Brianna Marshall said. “I don’t want to call it peace because it’s not, but to finally get this and we’re in here and it feels like, (Martin is) a coward however you slice it.”
After court adjourned, Marshall’s father, Larry Marshall Jr., told The News Tribune he was glad Sorensen saw the truth, that Martin was a leader in a whole different way than he claimed.
“Justice was done the right way,” the father said.
Later that day, Marshall Jr. said he was going to pick up a diploma for his son from Tacoma Public Schools. His son was a student at Foss High School before his death, and he had planned to enroll at Silas High School for its basketball program. He would have graduated this spring.
This story was originally published July 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
