A man was sentenced last week to eight-and-a-half years in prison for fatally shooting a 25-year-old man outside a Tacoma apartment complex in 2023.
Timothy Terrell Williams, 33, was involved in a fight in the city’s Hilltop neighborhood on April 22, 2023, but it wasn’t his opponent who died. Williams pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for shooting Sirrone Mansel Arthur Newbern, a bystander who, along with his girlfriend, rode with the other fighter who had driven them to the apartment.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Andrews sentenced Williams to 102 months in prison, according to court records. It was at the low end of the standard sentencing range for defendants prosecuted in similar cases, and the punishment included a 24-month deadly weapon sentencing enhancement.
Williams originally was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and other offenses for the shooting, but the charges were amended as part of a plea agreement, court records show. Deputy prosecuting attorney Kara Sanchez wrote in court filings that the state’s two eyewitnesses, including the man who fought with Williams, had given contradictory statements about what happened.
Prosecutors believed proving the original charges beyond a reasonable doubt would be difficult, particularly where the defendant asserted a claim of self-defense, Sanchez wrote. The witnesses had also expressed fear for their safety and a strong desire not to testify at trial.
Mary K. High, Williams’ attorney from the Department of Assigned Counsel, wrote in her sentencing memorandum that lay witnesses had been extremely reluctant to testify for either side for fear of gang retaliation. According to court records, the victim and the man who fought with Williams belonged to the same gang, but Williams had no connection to gangs.
Prosecutors wrote in a trial brief that there was “absolutely no evidence” that the incident was gang related.
It’s unclear what the fight was about. Newbern’s girlfriend reportedly described to detectives overhearing Williams and the man he fought with arguing over the phone earlier that night about a 17-year-old girl that had been “stolen” from Williams. She then heard them agreeing to fight before they drove to the apartment complex.
The man involved in the fight initially refused to speak to detectives, according to court records. He was arrested Jan. 17 on a material witness warrant, and in an interview with investigators he said he went to the apartment complex to buy marijuana from someone who lived there, not the defendant. He acknowledged having a phone conversation with Williams that night in which the defendant said something to the effect of “I’m going to whoop your [expletive],” but he said he didn’t take Williams seriously.
The two witnesses gave investigators similar descriptions of how the fight began and ended. According to prosecutors, both said that after they arrived at the apartment complex, Williams asked Newbern and the other man if they were there to jump him. The other man said no, and then Williams threw the first punch. Both witnesses said Newbern never intervened.
Newbern’s girlfriend also told detectives that Newbern and the man who fought with Williams did not have firearms with them.
The girlfriend told police that Williams initially had the upper hand in the fist fight, and that Newbern stood nearby essentially narrating what was happening. The other man then started winning and pulled Williams’ hair. Williams then pulled a gun and started shooting.
The man involved in the fight told detectives he pulled Williams’ hair and bit him on the shoulder after getting him into a hold with the defendant’s back against his chest. Williams then broke free, pulled a gun and fired twice at him, missing. He then shifted his aim at Newbern and shot him twice.
Tacoma Police Department officers responded to the shooting at about 10:48 p.m. after receiving multiple reports of gunfire at 1801 S. 15th St., including a 911 call from Williams, who reportedly said he’d just shot and killed a person.
Williams was arrested at the scene without incident. Newbern was found on the ground between two apartment buildings in the complex. Officers performed CPR on him until fire department personnel arrived and declared him dead.
The gun Williams used in the shooting was found at the scene, along with three 9mm bullet casings that a Washington State Patrol’s crime lab determined were shot from the firearm, records state. Detectives also obtained two videos that captured audio of the shooting but did not record the incident itself.
While Williams was taken into custody, he reportedly told officers “they tried to jump me and I defended myself,” according to prosecutors’ trial brief.
Williams’ defense attorney, High, noted in a sentencing memorandum that the victim and the defendant had been drinking on the day of the shooting. She wrote that before the fight, Williams reportedly said he was afraid of being jumped but would agree to a one-on-one.
Newbern, who was an arm’s length behind the other man, reportedly lifted his shirt during the fight and said “What’s up?” while laughing, High wrote. She said Williams tragically misinterpreted this movement and fired his gun, killing Newbern.
“Mr. Williams is a young father and is heartbroken that his actions have deprived Mr. Newbern’s young child of his father,” High wrote. “The major motivating factor in Mr. William’s decision to resolve this case with a plea of guilty was his son. He simply could not risk an unfavorable jury verdict.”
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