On a late summer night in Tacoma, Washington, the life of 57-year-old Pepe Jaquez came to a tragic end. The Hispanic male was fatally shot on August 27, 2023, in an incident that also left his 50-year-old younger brother with life-threatening injuries. The chain of events leading to the fatal encounter began earlier in the evening when Jaquez and his brother went to a park after a woman Jaquez was seeing had asked to meet him there.
When the woman did not show up, the brothers left.
Shortly after, they spotted her boyfriend, William Pierre Pelkey, riding a bicycle. Jaquez followed Pelkey into a bank parking lot at South 19th Street and Union Avenue. An argument ensued between the two men, which escalated to gunfire. Jaquez was struck in the head while he was in the driver's seat of his vehicle. As his brother fled on foot, he was shot in the back. First responders found Jaquez unresponsive in his still-running SUV and transported both brothers to the hospital. Jaquez succumbed to his injuries three days later.
The motive behind the shooting stemmed from a months-long affair between Jaquez and Pelkey's girlfriend. The conflict had reportedly escalated in the months leading up to the fatal shooting, including a previous confrontation where Jaquez allegedly pulled a knife on Pelkey.
Following the shooting, authorities quickly identified 43-year-old William Pierre Pelkey as the suspect, aided by witness statements and surveillance footage. He was arrested on August 31, 2023. Pelkey was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. A jury later found him guilty of second-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, and unlawful possession of a firearm. For his crimes, Pelkey was sentenced to 39 years and five months in prison.
