Tag Archives: Tacoma stabbing

12th Tacoma Homicide of 2021: Victor Martin Lee Davis

Posted on September 19, 2022 | Leave a comment

Just before 5pm on July 8, 2021, Victor Martin Lee Davis was leaving a friend’s apartment in the 700 block of Commerce Street. The 44-year-old was going to get some food when a 32-year-old acquaintance saw and recognized him and asked where his money was at. The acquaintance had loaned Victor $500 for a scooter weeks earlier. The two got into an argument that soon turned into a physical altercation in which the 32-year-old stabbed him in the side. The 32-year-old then ran to a friend’s place and asked him to hide the knife.

Passersby tried to assist Victor and first responders were called. Victor was transported to the hospital where he later died becoming the 12th Tacoma homicide of 2021.

As is often the case with individuals with common names or a low online presence, I was unable to find much information on Victor. This is why the comments section is moderated and reserved for family and friends who want to share thoughts and memories of him.

If you knew Victor and have a photo of Victor you’d like me to include in this article, please email me at jackcameronis@gmail.com.

– Jack

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Posted in 2021 Homicides, Tacoma Crime, Tacoma Homicides

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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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Posted in 2020 Homicides, Tacoma Homicides

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Eleventh Tacoma Homicide of 2018: Jiskoko “Jish” Shaw

Posted on November 25, 2018 | 4 comments

Jisgogo Sha

It was just after 9:30pm on Saturday, November 19th. In a parking garage in the 700 block of Commerce Street in downtown Tacoma, two transient acquaintances were talking. One was 33-year-old Jiskoko Sha. Friends called him Jish. The talking became an argument. The argument became physical. At some point the other man pulled a knife. A short time later a passerby found Jiskoko bleeding from a stab wound. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he later died, becoming Tacoma’s 11th homicide this year.

Police soon arrested the 36-year-old man who stabbed him, but prosecutors declined to press charges and released him pending further investigation.

The parking garage in which this happened is somewhat notorious for criminal activity though this is the first homicide to occur there.

I have been writing about homicides in Tacoma for eleven years and yet I still have difficulty fully explaining just what happens when someone in your life is murdered. Part of the reason for this site is to add a little more depth beyond the news headlines and to remind us that this isn’t just a homeless person getting killed in a bad area. This is a world ending. The world of Jiskoko Shaw is over. The impact of that echoes through the lives of his loved ones. Each of them feels a hole that cannot ever be fully patched. And Jish has been denied any possible future. His Tacoma Story ends here. But his memory remains. And who he was will not be forgotten by those who loved him.

As always the comment section is moderated and reserved for family and friends of Jiskoko Shaw who want to share memories or thoughts about him and his life.

– Jack Cameron

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Posted in 2018 Homicides, Tacoma Crime, Tacoma Homicides

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Tenth Tacoma Homicide of 2018: DeAngelo Reese

Posted on August 25, 2018 | Leave a comment

deangelo reese

In the early morning hours of August 17th, 36-year-old DeAngelo Reese was riding bicycles with a female acquaintance in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. Near South 21st Street a 46-year-old man approached them. The man said to them, “”You’re not gonna be hanging around here, these are my streets.”

DeAngelo stopped his bicycle and said, “We do what we want.” The two then continued riding.

The man ran after them, at which point DeAngelo got off his bike and said, “Don’t run up on me.” The two of them got into a physical fight. DeAngelo pulled a knife. The man knocked it out of his hand and picked it up. DeAngelo ran toward a traffic circle on South 21st and Sheridan. He lost his footing, tripping on a curb. The man caught up to him and stabbed him repeatedly.

Shortly afterward, a passerby approached in response to the commotion. The man ran, getting into his girlfriend’s car as she drove away. DeAngelo was taken to a local hospital where he later died from his wounds becoming Tacoma’s tenth homicide this year.

Both the man who stabbed DeAngelo and his girlfriend were arrested and charged in DeAngelo’s murder days later.

This is the sort of murder that used to be fairly commonplace in Tacoma, especially in the Hilltop neighborhood. These days this kind of homicide is a rarity in this town. It can be easy to dismiss something like this as fairly trivial, but that of course ignores the hole left in the lives of DeAngelo’s loved ones that can never fully be repaired.

As always the comment section is reserved for those who knew DeAngelo and want to share thoughts or memories of him with us. Each comment is approved and moderated before it appears. All other comments are deleted and not seen.

My thoughts go out to DeAngelo’s loved ones.

– Jack

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Posted in 2018 Homicides, Tacoma Crime, Tacoma Homicides, Uncategorized

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Ninth Tacoma Homicide of 2018: Josh Youell

Posted on July 30, 2018 | 1 comment

joshyouell

According to charging papers, Josh Youell was looking for a man he claimed owed him money.  They’d talked on the phone earlier and it seemed as though the man was disrespecting Josh. Josh wanted to talk face to face. He and some others went looking for the man in an SUV. They found him near the 4400 block of Portland Avenue. It was 8pm on July 24th. It’d been a hot day. Though there were at least five other people in the SUV ranging in ages from 16-30, Josh was the only one to step out initially. Josh and the man got into a scuffle. The scuffle ended with Josh having been stabbed repeatedly. Three people in the SUV stepped out. Two had guns and shot the man who stabbed Josh as he ran away. They then drove Josh to Allenmore Hospital where they helped him get inside. Josh later died from his stab wounds during surgery becoming the ninth Tacoma homicide victim this year.

It isn’t known how much money the man owed Josh, but it certainly was not worth both of their lives. It is often not until horrific tragedy has struck that we see how minor our differences really are. It helps to remember that everyone you know has sides you may not see. I doubt the man who stabbed Josh knew that Josh had a sister who was also his best friend. I doubt that the people who shot the man who stabbed Josh knew he had a three year old daughter who had already lost her mother. And I would bet anything that given the option everyone involved would take back everything that happened.

This year continues to be a year in which the homicide rate in Tacoma is higher than normal. We’ve had literally twice as many homicides as we did at this time last year. This means more grieving family and friends and the loss of more Tacomans.

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

– Jack Cameron

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Posted in 2018 Homicides, Tacoma Crime, Tacoma Homicides

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Fifth Tacoma Homicide of 2018 Tyler Zimmerman

Posted on June 29, 2018 | 1 comment

TylerZimmerman

It’s was almost 2am on Wednesday, February 21st. 27-year-old Tyler Zimmerman was at a friend’s house in the 6110 block of South Fawcett. They decided to purchase some magic mushrooms and invited a dealer over. The 26-year-old dealer showed up with a friend. Tyler handed over $300. The dealer pulled out the mushrooms, but when Tyler saw them he decided they weren’t worth the money and asked for the money back. The dealer refused. A fight ensued. The fight spilled into the yard. At one point the dealer pulled a knife and stabbed Tyler in the back.

“Ow, what did you hit me with? What did you hit me with?” Tyler said before collapsing to the ground. After police arrived, Tyler was transported to the hospital where he later died.

The drug dealer and the drug dealer’s friend were both arrested. This is the fifth Tacoma homicide this year. This is a sharp increase in homicides compared to last year.

Tyler was the oldest of five children and had a seven-year-old daughter. He worked at a company that set up offices. In his off time he liked working on cars. He also liked gardening. He grew roses in his mother’s yard.

There are some who would argue that anyone involved in illegal drugs should not find it unexpected when things turn violent or fatal, but those people lack empathy, compassion, or awareness. Odds are that those same people have close friends and relatives who engage in such behavior and would feel very differently if the victim were one of their own.

Every death matters. Every killing is a loss. Right now there is a seven-year-old little girl who will grow up without her father because another man chose to end her father’s life over $300.

As always, the comments section is reserved for those who knew Tyler to share memories or thoughts of him. All comments are monitored and approved by me.

I would also like to take this moment to apologize to Tyler’s friends and family for the delay in getting this article written. I have been writing about Tacoma homicides for over a decade. This sort of writing and research takes a toll. I had to give myself some time away and as this is a one-man website, that meant a delay in getting this done. Tyler is not forgotten.

  • Jack Cameron

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Posted in 2018 Homicides, Tacoma Crime, Tacoma Homicides, Uncategorized

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