The plan seemed simple enough. A 16-year-old offered to sell a gun to a 13-year-old he smoked pot with a few weeks ago. The deal was to go down December 9th. The 16-year-old had no gun to sell. He was bringing three friends with him and they were going to rob the kid. According to charging papers, two of those friends were 19-year-old Evitan De Biaso and 21-year-old Deonte Mitchner. The third friend stayed in the car with Deonte’s two young children. Evitan and Deonte hid in bushes in an alley near the 1300 block of East 35th street.
Things did not go according to plan. The 16-year-old led the 13-year-old to the ambush, but the 13-year-old brought a friend. When Evitan and Deonte jumped out, the 13-year-old ran with the 16-year-old chasing him. The 16-year-old heard gunshots and knew that neither of his friends had guns. Around 4:50pm Tacoma police found both Evitan and Deonte dead of gunshot wounds. Evitan and Deonte become the thirteenth and fourteenth Tacoma homcides this year. The 16-year-old and the driver have been arrested. The unidentified shooter remains at large. People with knowledge of the incident are asked to call the Tacoma Police Department at 253-591-5968.
If TacomaStories has a theme it is to echo Bryan Stevenson’s “We are more than the worst things we’ve done.” Evitan and Deonte were more than these actions. Both had loving, caring families. Deonte has a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old who will never spend another Christmas with their father. It’s all too easy to judge and discard other people. We do not do that here. I know I have said it before, but every loss of life creates a hole in the lives of countless others.
As always the comments section is reserved for the friends and family of Evitan and Deonte who might want to share any thoughts or memories of them. All comments are moderated and approved before appearing.
– Jack
tacomastories.com 
My heart goes out to the family. I’m so sorry for your loss
You misspelled my brother Evitans name and well it hurt when he was killed and no one can spell his name correctly…😩😔🌹💜🙏
Thanks we are so depressed right now since he has a new daughter since his gf is pregnant 😔🌹💜💯🙏
If you want to tell Evitan’s story you might want to talk to his mother. As she is the only one that has known him his whole life. There is so much more to him that no one wants to acknowledge… He wasn’t a father yet. He never got a chance to see his child. And as far as his mother knows may not even exist… Considering his siblings on his mother’s side might see this story one day, you might want to find her to get a clear understanding of this young man.
Please edit the article to remove the information about Evitan being a father and having a daughter on the way . it has been verified that his girlfriend had an abortion without his knowledge before his death. Which devistated him as he wanted his child.
Thanks for the information. I’ve updated the article.
The prosecutor isn’t filing charges for the murder of Evitan Debiaso, the prosecutor says “there isn’t enough evidence to prove it wasn’t self defense” the young man who was 16 years old at the time shot Evitan 3 times. From what the prosecutor said “Evitan jumped out of the bushes with a bandana around his face and was shot in the mouth” , as if that wasn’t enough to “defend himself” and stop Evitan Debiaso he shot him again in the right knee, and again in the back, the shot to the back was the final shot that killes him… Self defense didn’t require him to be shot 3 times. Evitan should be here to face the consequences of his actions rightfully. Death is not a punishment to the deceased, it is a punishment to the families. Our actions in one moment of making poor choices does not define us and our lives, we have all done things in our lives that we wouldn’t do ten years later.. Death is not a determination of who Evitan was as a whole person. He suffered with untreated and misdiagnosed mental health issues that lead him to that moment in his life where another young man decides his value on this earth was not enough to live through his poor choices….. Evitan Deserved so much better in life, just as the young man who took his life deserved so much better in life. They have no difference, one just made a worse choice than the other and it cost a family their happiness forever. Leaving a mother to grieve her child while having to continue to struggle in life to be resilient in a world that sets us up for failure.. I hope one day that young man whoever he is, wherever he goes in the world can one day reach a moment in his life where he can be happy with who he is at the end of the day …. Evitan suffered herw on earth with a failing mental health system, members of his family misguided him, his community let him down, those that feel they want “justice” for his life being taken should look in the mirror, because they lead him to that night. His abusive girlfriend who took him from his family that loved him leading him to live in the streets. He wanted to graduate high school and he was so close, closer than he knew. The system failed him, people in his life failed him… The village he needed failed him… And his mother and siblings suffer the most because people that knew better didnt do better.