DNA on shell casing led police to Pierce County killer. He’s pleaded guilty
A 44-year-old man accused of shooting and killing a man inside a now-closed motel on Pacific Highway in Fife admitted to recklessly causing the man’s death and has been sentenced to six years and six months in prison.
Dominique Lavelle Jenkins pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree manslaughter for killing 37-year-old Terrance Flowers on Jan. 28, 2022.
Flowers was found shot in the torso in Room 236 of the former Rodeway Inn & Suites, 3100 Pacific Highway E. According to charging documents, police were called there at about 12:41 a.m. A person who had been staying with Flowers told detectives that a man came to the door and demanded money from Flowers over a bong — a water pipe for marijuana — that he’d purchased from Flowers.
An argument ensued, according to the witness’ account, and eventually the witness saw the man pick up a tan handgun he’d put on the bed. The man held it behind his waist while they continued to argue, then shot Flowers at point-blank range.
Fife Police Department detectives zeroed in on Jenkins with a shell casing found in the room. It was sent to a Washington State Patrol crime lab. In August 2022, the lab found DNA on the casing and determined Jenkins was a contributor to the profile.
Investigators found surveillance video that showed Jenkins was at the motel about a week before the shooting. Detectives didn’t learn the man’s whereabouts until 2025 when a law enforcement source who had identified Jenkins in a previous investigation provided the police with a phone number Jenkins was using and an address for him.
After confirming the source’s information through jail calls and cell-phone records, detectives identified a black Dodge Avenger that belonged to Jenkins.
The police surrounded Jenkins’ residence on May 1, 2025, and ordered him to come out. Jenkins allegedly shot at police through a window, but no one was hit. Officers eventually took Jenkins into custody.
Inside his residence, the police allegedly found more than 13 firearms. According to charging documents, Jenkins appeared to be 3-D printing guns.
Prosecutors originally charged Jenkins with second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. His murder charge was reduced to manslaughter in part because of the sole witness’ reluctance to testify against the defendant.
In a court filing about the amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Lisa Wagner wrote that the state had to issue a material-witness warrant to ensure compliance with a subpoena to appear.
“Additionally, this witness was the victim’s girlfriend at the time of the shooting,” Wagner said.
“However, she later became involved with the defendant after the shooting. Given this conflict, and given the reluctance of the witness to testify against the defendant, the State has agreed to reduce the charge from Murder 2nd degree to Manslaughter in the First Degree.”
Pierce County Superior Court Pro Tempore Judge Brian Tollefson sentenced Jenkins on April 9, giving him a sentence at the low end of the standard sentencing range, 6.5 to 8.5 years.
Jenkins has six prior felony convictions as a juvenile out of King County, according to court records, including for second- and third-degree assault and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance.
In other news from Superior Court
Tacoma driver sentenced for fatal DUI hit-and-run of pedestrian crossing street
A 35-year-old man who drove drunk in Tacoma and didn’t stop after hitting a pedestrian crossing the street in the city’s West End was sentenced Friday to six years and six months in prison.
Anthony Thomas Albers pleaded guilty in February to vehicular homicide in the November 2024 incident at the intersection of South 12th and Whitman streets. Albers admitted to being intoxicated and driving recklessly.
Devin W. Bond, 31 of Tacoma, was killed. According to charging documents, Bond was crossing South 12th Street when he was struck by Albers, who was driving a 1997 Chevrolet pickup truck.
Albers’ blood-alcohol content was recorded as 0.069 within two hours of him driving, according to court documents. The legal limit in Washington is 0.08. Also in his blood was a concentration of 2.4 nanograms of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana. The legal limit is five nanograms per milliliter of blood.
A witness told police he saw Albers turn onto the street from Pearl Street and continue at high speed. As the pickup approached Whitman Street, the witness saw the vehicle collide with Bond and send him into the air. Albers continued west, and the witness followed him to obtain his license-plate number, then called 911.
Tacoma police responded at about 6:49 p.m. An officer found Alber’s pickup parked in the driveway of a house connected to the vehicle’s registered owner. It had front-end damage.
The police spoke with Albers on the phone, and he arrived at the house with his father some time later. A police report stated that Albers appeared obviously intoxicated, and he had the smell of alcohol on his breath.
An officer questioned how much Albers had to drink, and he allegedly said he didn’t have anything until he went to his friend’s house, where he said he had three shots of vodka. Two officers then went to the friend’s house and didn’t find any visible liquor. According to the probable cause document, a man who was there told the police Albers had one beer at the house.
The police arrested Albers that evening. In addition to vehicular homicide, prosecutors originally charged him with failure to remain at an accident resulting in death and reckless driving. The latter two charges were dismissed as part of plea negotiations.
In a court filing regarding the amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Miriam Norman wrote that the resolution accounted for Albers’ lack of criminal history and potential evidence issues that could arise at trial.
Albers reported that he worked as a janitor at a local bowling alley at the time of the incident. His only prior criminal conviction, according to court records, was for misdemeanor reckless driving in Pierce County in 2010.
Judge Alicia Burton sentenced Albers on Friday, giving him a prison term at the low end of the standard sentencing range, 6.5 to 8.5 years. Court records show Bond’s mother and two sisters spoke at the hearing.
Burton ordered Albers to undergo a substance-abuse evaluation and complete all recommended treatment. He also was ordered to 18 months of community custody, during which time he cannot consume alcohol or go to bars or casinos and must abide by other conditions.
Man arrested in 2-county bust of illegal marijuana operation sentenced
One of five people arrested after multiple law enforcement agencies in September raided four houses in Pierce and King counties during the investigation of an illegal marijuana operation will not serve any additional jail time.
Hui Chen, 57, and his wife, Eileen Hy, 65, were suspected of leading the drug ring out of homes in Lakewood, Federal Way and unincorporated Pierce County in the Tacoma area. The police also searched the couple’s house in Rainier Beach.
Chen pleaded guilty April 6 to money laundering, unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance and unlawful use of a building for drug purposes.
One of the houses Chen admitted to using is in the 8000 block of Maybelle Lane, where the Lakewood Police Department’s Special Response Team found at least 579 marijuana plants, large amounts of processed weed, $8,578 in cash, scales and dozens of light fixtures.
A woman who answered the door during the 5 a.m. raid allegedly told the police that she’d lived there on and off for two years and allegedly admitted to helping water the plants.
The other house Chen pleaded guilty to using for drug purposes is in the 2700 block of Southwest 312th Place in Federal Way. The Valley SWAT Team detained two people there, and investigators found evidence of a recently harvested marijuana grow. There were 188 drying plants in a basement bedroom, and investigators found $11,176 in cash.
Judge Alicia Burton sentenced Chen on April 6 and gave him two days in jail, with two days credit for time served. He had no prior criminal convictions. Chen’s standard sentencing range for money laundering was up to a year in jail.
Burton ordered 12 months of community custody, during which she ordered Chen to not possess or consume marijuana without a valid prescription and to not have contact with drug users or sellers.
Prosecutors originally charged Chen with leading organized crime, unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, two counts of unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance and two counts of unlawful use of a building for drug purposes.
The organized crime charge was reduced to money laundering. In a court filing about the amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Aaron Dickinson checked boxes that said the nature and seriousness of the offenses charged justified an amendment, and that the defendant had no criminal history or minimal criminal history.
Hy also had a plea date set for April 9, but it was canceled. Prosecutors charged her with the same offenses as her husband, and she pleaded not guilty to the crimes at an arraignment hearing in September.
The three other people arrested in connection to the illegal marijuana grows were released on their personal recognizances following their Sept. 26 arraignment hearings. Limei Huang, 46, Mingguang Huang, 37, and Yun Guang Huang, 40, pleaded not guilty to drug charges. They did not show up for court dates, and bench warrants were issued for each of them.
Judge dismisses Tacoma vehicular homicide case after defendant dies
Charges have been dropped against a man accused of driving while intoxicated in Tacoma in 2020 and crashing his truck into another vehicle and then a tree, killing his passenger. Prosecutors say the driver has since died.
Prosecutors charged Jason Scott Hedglin with vehicular homicide about eight months after the fatal wreck on Pacific Avenue that killed 51-year-old Gilbert Garcia. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest, but Hedglin was never taken into custody.
On March 31, prosecutors moved to dismiss the case, stating in a court filing that they had received a copy of a death certificate for a person they believed to be the defendant. Prosecutors said the deceased had the same name, date of birth, address and vital identifying information as the man charged.
A death notice in The News Tribune reported that a man named Jason Scott Hedglin, 58, died Nov. 29, 2022.
According to charging documents, a Tacoma Police Department officer was driving on Pacific Avenue on Dec. 7, 2020 when he saw an out-of-control white truck collide with a tree in front of a residence. The truck’s passenger side was caved in.
The wreck left Garcia with a severe head laceration, according to the probable cause statement. He died hours later at the hospital.
Officers contacted another driver at the scene who reported that he was driving south on Pacific Avenue when the driver next to him — identified as Hedglin — appeared to lose control. Hedglin hit the rear right side of his vehicle, veered in front of him and then made a wide right turn straight into the tree.
Hedglin’s blood was drawn at Tacoma General Hospital. Toxicology results detected methamphetamine, codeine, morphine, clonazepam, methadone and amphetamine, according to the probable cause document.
