Second man charged in shooting of Tacoma man in his bed

A second man has been charged with shooting a Tacoma man in his bed earlier this month.

Steven Kusander, 22, pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree assault and was ordered held in lieu of $200,000 bail for the April 6 shooting.

Marcus Nelson, who was dating the victim’s mother, has pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

The shooting took place at a home in the 1000 block of North Villard Street, where the victim lived with his mother, Nelson and Kusander.

He told police he awoke to find the two men standing over him talking about “whacking” him.

Kusander was angry because he suspected the victim had stolen a necklace belonging to Kusander’s father, who recently died, according to charging papers.

After deciding to confront the victim, Nelson allegedly retrieved a pistol and handed it to Kusander before they went to the victim’s bedroom.

“Kusander claimed he did not mean to fire the weapon, but that it did go off while he had it pointed at” the victim, according to the records.

When the victim tried to jump off the bed and flee, Nelson allegedly took the gun, pushed the victim back and fired the weapon.

The victim suffered gunshot wounds to his abdomen, his right wrist and both thighs.

Witnesses told detectives Nelson often assaulted his girlfriend’s son and had been particularly angry since the son stole a power tool from Nelson and pawned it.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Second man charged in shooting of Tacoma man in his bed."