TACOMA, Wash. — The trial of a man accused of shooting and killing four people in Tacoma in 2021 is set to begin Monday with jury selection.
In October 2021, Maleke Dominque Pate, then 22 years old, allegedly shot four people outside a home in Tacoma's Salishan neighborhood. Three people died at the scene and the fourth person later died from his injuries on the way to the hospital.
The shooting claimed the lives of Raymond Williams, 22; his girlfriend Natasha Brincefield, 22; his older sister Maria Nunez-Iese, 42; and her son Emery Iese, 19. All four died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiner's office.
In court on Thursday, Pate initially requested to argue to represent himself without a lawyer but then rescinded his request. A Pierce County Superior Court judge also ruled that the media not show Pate's face in video or online as not to influence potential jurors.
Lauvale Iese lost his wife, Maria Nunez, his son Emery Iese, and his brother-in-law, Raymond Williams, in the shooting. He said on Thursday that he’s worked with people experiencing grief through his ministry with his wife but never imagined he’d have to go through it himself.
“I stopped, I stopped caring about everyone after that. But we have a 6-year-old, and I want justice for him,” he said. “I can’t provide for my wife physically, or my son, or my brother-in-law, but at least I can do this part to make sure justice is heard. Even in the court, we’re supposed to bite our tongue, and it’s hard. But for them, yeah, it’s worth it to bring justice.”
Pate reportedly attended fifth grade with one of the victims, but officials have said there is no other indication of a connection nor a motive in the fatal shootings. He was charged with four counts of aggravated murder in 2021.
Around 4:24 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2021, near the 4200 block of Everett Avenue in Tacoma, a person in a home, which Nunez rented, heard two gunshots and saw a man with a gun standing in the alley behind the home.
The person said at the time of the shooting, two or three of the victims were inside a car in the alley and one or two of the victims were standing near the car, according to charging documents.
Another witness told police they saw the gunman firing into the vehicle several times. Three victims were found in the alley. Witnesses reported seeing the fourth victim, identified as Iese, run from behind the house toward the street as the gunman chased and shot him.
Following the shooting, detectives sent out a bulletin with pictures of the suspect, and an officer who previously worked as a school resource officer identified Pate as the suspect. He was arrested at his Tacoma home on Oct. 29, 2021.
Charging documents state that detectives found a 9mm handgun at Pate's home during a search with ammunition that matched the bullets found at the scene, KING 5 previously reported.
In July 2023, Pate was determined incompetent to stand trial, according to records from the state Department of Social and Health Services.
According to his 2023 competency evaluation report, Pate was born in Seattle and grew up in Tacoma. He was expelled during his senior year of high school and moved to Oregon, and later attended college in Idaho. At the time of the shootings, Pate said he had been working at a warehouse for about six months. Documents also state that he has a young daughter.
Pate was involuntarily hospitalized for behavioral health in January 2021 for approximately 10 days and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and later schizophrenia and psychosis, documents state. In August 2023, he was ordered to 90 days of outpatient treatment and has undergone several psychological evaluations since the shootings.
In December, the court ruled Pate is mentally fit to face trial.