Director of Tacoma pot shop robbery where employee was killed pleads guilty
The 26-year-old man accused of giving directions to three teenagers who robbed a Tacoma marijuana dispensary and fatally shot an employee has pleaded guilty to murder.
Michael Keylon Miller-Jimerson also faces federal charges for allegedly conspiring to organize dozens of armed robberies of pot shops, banks, pawn shops and jewelry stores between December 2021 and June 2022 in King and Pierce counties. Court documents allege members of the conspiracy often recruited teenagers to carry out the crimes.
Miller-Jimerson pleaded guilty Dec. 12 to second-degree murder for his part in the death of 29-year-old Jordan Brown in March 2022. A sentencing hearing was set for Jan. 6.
The defendant previously was held at the federal detention center in SeaTac awaiting trial in his federal case, which is ongoing. He was booked Dec. 10 into the Pierce County Jail ahead of his plea date, and he remains in custody on a no-bail hold for his sentencing hearing.
Miller-Jimerson was charged in Brown’s murder in November, months after he withdrew a guilty plea in his federal case. That appears to have voided a plea agreement with prosecutors that included a stipulation that the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office would not charge him with any crimes related to the robberies.
The probable-cause document alleged Miller-Jimerson and three juveniles drove to Tacoma from King County on March 19, 2022 to scope out a marijuana dispensary. They targeted the World of Weed, 3202 Portland Ave., where Miller-Jimerson waited in his vehicle while Marshon Jones and Montrell Hatfield went inside as the third juvenile acted as a lookout.
“Just as they planned, after entering the WOW and after firing a round into the ceiling to let everyone know this was a robbery, [Hatfield] and [Jones] proceeded to terrorize the employees and the customers with their firearms while demanding cash from the registers,” prosecutors wrote in the probable-cause document.
Prosecutors said Hatfield, then 16, became angry and attacked Brown because he was not cowering like other employees. When Jones, then 15, saw that Brown was ably defending himself, Jones fatally shot Brown in the neck.
Jones later turned himself in, and police arrested Hatfield. Each pleaded guilty in February 2024 to first-degree murder and multiple counts of first-degree robbery for a string of armed robberies, and they were both sentenced to 25 years in state custody.
In other news from Superior Court
Teen gets 10 years for Lakewood marketplace shooting
A young man who fired gunshots inside Lakewood’s B&I Public Marketplace during a confrontation between two groups, striking one person and injuring a bystander, has been sentenced to 10 years, four months in state custody.
Victor Caudell Moran, 18, pleaded guilty Dec. 1 to first-degree assault for the Jan. 17 incident. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Joseph Evans sentenced him the same day, handing down a punishment near the middle of the standard sentencing range of nine years, nine months to 12 years, three months.
Moran’s sentence included two years of flat time due to a deadly weapon enhancement. He will serve time in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth & Families until age 25, when he would transfer to the Department of Corrections.
According to charging documents, the encounter between two groups started with aggressive staring. Individuals from both groups accused the other of mean mugging. Surveillance video showed the groups briefly meet in a hallway before Moran pulled a handgun and fired two shots.
A witness told Lakewood Police Department detectives Moran said, “Yo, what’s up?” A person in the other group threw a punch, and Moran responded by producing a gun and firing.
An uninvolved woman who had been standing at an ATM was struck in both legs, and a male who was involved in the confrontation later arrived at a Tacoma hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot.
Prosecutors originally charged Moran with two counts of first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. In a court filing about the amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Crystal Maria wrote that the resolution took into consideration Moran’s youth at the time of the offense, the significant nature of the offense and a mitigation packet from the defense.
The mitigation packet included a psychological report outlining research on brain development in young people and the individual factors that affected Moran. Moran was 17 at the time, and the report stated his history of trauma, including being shot at multiple times and growing up witnessing violence in his community and between family members, would have affected his functioning at the time of the incident.
In a handwritten letter to the court, Moran said he wanted to sincerely apologize for the harm he caused to the victims and the community.
“I want to take full accountability for my actions,” Moran wrote. “I ask that you don’t decide who I am as a person from the bad choices I’ve made. I’m not perfect, your honor, as a human I will make mistakes and the actions that I’ve made to get me here was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made …”
Teen who aided robber after fatal shooting sentenced
An 18-year-old man who helped an accomplice rob a mini market in Tacoma a day after the other robber fatally shot the owner of a convenience store has been sentenced to six years, eight months.
Juan Manuel Calvario pleaded guilty in November to first-degree assault for helping Angel Mendez rob an EZ Market in the 3400 block of Pacific Avenue in October 2023.
Judge Diana Kiesel sentenced Calvario Dec. 12, handing him a punishment below the standard sentencing range of seven years, nine months to 10 years, three months. Court documents say prosecutors and the defense agreed to recommend the shorter sentence based on Calvario’s youthfulness and willingness to accept responsibility.
Calvario was 16 at the time of the EZ Market robbery. No one was injured in that incident, but Mendez pointed a gun at an employee and fired a shot at a man and a woman who followed them after the robbery and told them to stop.
Calvario admitted to knowing Mendez was armed and said he was a participant in the robbery. About $2,000 worth of vape and tobacco products were taken.
In a letter to the court, Calvario apologized to the victims of the robbery and said he was glad they weren’t hurt.
“...Wish I can take things back and prevent all of this,” Calvario wrote. “I hope you can take this letter and forgive me for all the big trouble.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 5:15 AM.
