Two 16 year olds were arrested by Tacoma Police on April 5 in connection to the killing of an 18-year-old man in Tacoma who was shot while surrounded by the suspects in an apartment building elevator.
Messiah Washington was killed in the Feb. 22 shooting. He was a student at the Willie Stewart Academy and lived with his father on the third floor of the apartment building in the 1100 block of South L Street.
Kaleb Prince Tramble and Kaleb Johnny Whiteside, both 16, were charged as adults April 3 with first-degree murder and first-degree conspiracy to commit murder in Pierce County Superior Court. Tramble was additionally charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Bench warrants were issued for their arrest.
In Washington, 16-year-olds who are charged with a serious violent offense such as murder are automatically moved to adult court. According to charging documents, Tramble and Whiteside were recently on electronic home monitoring in King County for unrelated felonies.
According to a news release from the Tacoma Police Department, the two were arrested on April 5 and taken into custody. They were booked into Remann Hall for first-degree murder and first-degree conspiracy to commit murder.
A third defendant, a 15-year-old boy who allegedly was the first to shoot the victim, was charged March 18 in Pierce County Juvenile Court with first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to Adam Faber, a spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Faber said a bench warrant was issued for his arrest the same day, and he is not yet in custody.
Another 15-year-old boy was arrested March 5 for the fatal shooting. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment and was ordered to be held in detention at Remann Hall. Prosecutors are seeking to charge him as an adult.
The case is still ongoing.