Victim of fatal shooting in Tacoma alley identified as Gig Harbor man
The man who was killed in a shooting in a South Tacoma alley where two other people were wounded by gunfire was identified Monday by the medical examiner.
Dustin Carter, 49 of Gig Harbor, died Sept. 21 of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. His death was ruled a homicide.
Tacoma police found Carter that afternoon after a 911 caller reported shots fired in an alley between South Warner Street and Puget Sound Avenue, a few blocks from South Tacoma Way. Carter was lying by a red van when officers arrived, according to court documents, near another man who was shot in the chest and critically injured. Carter was pronounced dead at the scene.
The third man who was shot in the incident was arrested later that evening after he approached police on Portland Avenue with gunshot wounds to his right arm and right side. Donovan Bailey O’Neal, 28, later pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Charging documents indicate the shooting stemmed from an argument over allegedly stolen property that escalated to a fist fight and then gunfire. Three witnesses who were interviewed by detectives said O’Neal confronted Carter about allegedly stealing a drug pipe. And the surviving victim reported that O’Neal punched Carter “all over” before Carter shot O’Neal, who returned fire and fled in a van.
O’Neal was interviewed by detectives, and he allegedly said Carter shot him after he told the man he was a “bitch” if he didn’t want to throw hands, or fight, to settle an argument about Carter stealing his stuff, including his wallet and some money. According to the probable cause document, O’Neal both denied shooting Carter and admitted to firing five shots while the group he was with drove away.
O’Neal remains in jail on $2 million bail.
