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Teen accused of Tacoma murder appear in court
Two teen suspects accused of murdering 18-year-old Messiah Washington inside an elevator in Tacoma appeared in court on Monday.
What investigators said happened
TACOMA, Wash. - On Monday, two teenagers appeared in Tacoma court facing charges for the murder of Messiah Washington.
Washington was ambushed and shot to death in his apartment complex’s elevator on February 22.
Washington’s father, Jacque, heard the shooting and raced out of his apartment to find his youngest son murdered just outside their family’s door.
Jacque Washington said he and his youngest son were very close.
What they're saying:
"Justice, whatever that is, it’s not enough because my son is gone," Jacque told FOX 13 Seattle in court on Monday.
Investigators said four people are responsible for the murder.
Investigators said 18-year-old Messiah Washington was shot to death in the elevator of his apartment
Court documents said the suspects stalked Washington's apartment complex until they found him in an elevator. The document said the teens surrounded Washington while he was distracted, looking down at his cell phone.
According to the documents, one of the teens gave a signal to his accomplice to move out of the way, then opened fire multiple times, shooting Washington.
The medical examiner said they found 21 bullet holes in Washington.
Teen suspects appear in front of a judge
In court, two of the teenagers accused of the killing appeared in front of a judge.
Sixteen-year-old Kaleb Whiteside is charged with murder. He is being tried as an adult.
Despite Whiteside facing charges as an adult, Judge Joseph Evans refused to allow our cameras to record his face.
A second teen appeared in court on Monday as well. However, there is confusion about the actual age of the alleged murderer and official charges are still pending.
"I just don’t want them to skate on the low end and get away with murder on the low end. It’s just crazy. Just because they’re juveniles, they know what they’re doing," said Jacque Washington.
Tacoma teenage convicted felons
Whiteside already has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for theft of a motor vehicle, identity theft, robbery and attempted robbery, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The other teen also has a previous felony robbery conviction, according to probable cause documents.
The document said both suspects, in court on Monday, had already been on at-home monitoring/home detention for crimes in King County.
Judge Evans set bail for Whiteside at $5 million dollars.
Three suspects are in custody in connection with Washington’s murder. Investigators say there is a fourth still on the loose.
Anyone with information is asked to call Tacoma Police.
The Source: Information for this article comes from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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