Monthly Archives: October 2021

26th Tacoma Homicide of 2020: Aiden Gage Walters

Posted on October 22, 2021 | 1 comment

Aiden Gage Walters lived with his mother, his girlfriend and his 18-year-old little brother in a house in 1000 block of South 88th Street. He was 23 years old. On the morning of Saturday, November 14, 2020 Aiden had a friend over. Aiden’s brother did not like the friend and started harassing him, at one point he threw a clock at the friend. Aiden and his brother began arguing. His brother had a Leatherman tool with the knife on it extended. When their mother saw that the fight was turning physical and that her youngest son had a knife she tried to intervene, but during the fight he stabbed Aiden twice in the left side of the head.

Aiden told his girlfriend he needed medical attention as he was bleeding profusely. She began to drive him to the hospital, but were met along the way by an ambulance. Aiden later died of his wounds Sunday night becoming the 26th Tacoma homicide of 2020. Aiden’s brother was arrested and charged with second degree murder.

I couldn’t find much information online about Aiden. As the father of a son his age, I can say that his life was just beginning and a fight that didn’t need to turn deadly has robbed us of learning what sort of man Aiden would have grown up to be.

As always, the comments section is moderated and reserved for those who knew Aiden and want to share thoughts or memories of him.

– Jack

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25th Tacoma Homicide of 2020: James ‘Jimmy’ Wamsley

Posted on October 22, 2021 | Leave a comment

43-year-old James ‘Jimmy’ Wamsley was at a friend’s home in the 7600 block of South J Street on the evening of October 1st, 2020. The house was a known drug house with frequent visitors. One person who lived there said there were twenty to thirty people in and out of the house every day. There were seven people in the bedroom when Jimmy was accosted by another 42-year-old who accused him of harming a woman they both knew.  Jimmy denied it. The argument soon became physical and the 42-year-old shot Jimmy once in the chest before leaving.

Twelve minutes elapsed between the time Jimmy was shot and the time someone in the house called 9-1-1. When asked who had been at the house, no one mentioned the name of the gunman. Once police had secured the scene, paramedics arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene becoming Tacoma’s 25th homicide victim this year.

It would be over three months before police caught up to the man who shot Jimmy. There is no evidence that anything the gunman said about him was true.

Friends and family say that Jimmy was larger than life and a loyal friend. He was the sort of person who believed that family didn’t have to be blood related. He had a great laugh. He had a rough upbringing and got into his share of trouble, but most remember him as a guy always willing to help out. At the time of this writing, Jimmy has been gone almost a full year, but for those who knew him, the hurt is still very fresh like it is for so many people who knew victims of homicide.

As always, the comments section is moderated and reserved for those who knew Jimmy and want to share thoughts or memories of him.

– Jack Cameron

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24th Tacoma Homicide of 2020: Christian Martinez

Posted on October 22, 2021 | Leave a comment

Christian Martinez was looking forward to seeing his friend who had recently been released from prison in the early morning hours of Friday, September 25th. They had known each other since they were six years old. They had both joined the same gang. Christian had decided to leave the gang, but still wanted to see his friend. Christian was in the passenger seat of his van while a female friend of his drove. They were going to meet up with his buddy at a convenience store and eventually settled on a convenience store in the 3900 block of East Portland Avenue. It was just after one in the morning when they pulled up.

The driver of the van got out of the vehicle to go inside the store. Christian stayed in the van, but rolled down the passenger side window when he saw his old friend approaching. Christian said, “What’s up?” and began to reach his hand out to shake hands when his old friend pulled out a handgun and fired three times before running away. The driver of the vehicle had just been entering the store the she heard the gunshots and Christian yelling that they needed to leave. She returned to the van and saw that he’d been shot in the neck. She drove Christian to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he later died from his wounds becoming the 24th Tacoma homicide of 2020.

The following Monday, police caught up to his friend near a hotel on Hosmer and arrested him after a short chase. Their investigation found that higher ups in the gang had demanded Christian’s friend kill him for leaving the gang.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find much information about Christian online. If friends or relatives have a photo they’d like to accompany this article, please contact me at jackcameronis@gmail.com

As always the comments section is reserved for family and friends who want to share memories or thoughts about Christian. All comments are moderated before they are posted.

– Jack Cameron

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