In the late hours of July 14, 2023, a tragedy unfolded in Spokane, Washington, that cut short the life of 26-year-old Darnell Wakai Pluff. A member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Pluff was seated against a coffee stand on North Division Street near Franklin Park when he was fatally shot. The incident, which occurred just before 11:30 p.m., appeared to be unprovoked.
Witnesses described a scene that was deceptively calm moments before the fatal act; three men were seen standing over Pluff, seemingly joking and in good spirits.
The serene facade was shattered when one of the men, without any apparent argument or provocation, pointed a pistol at Pluff and fired a single shot to his head. The sudden violence left Pluff slumping to the side as the three men fled the scene, disappearing north on Division Street. When police and medics arrived, they found Pluff with a gunshot wound to his head and neck and, despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators found no shell casings, adding another layer of mystery to the senseless act.
The investigation into Darnell Pluff's death led Spokane police to 42-year-old Jose M. Matthews. A crucial break in the case came from surveillance footage from a nearby bank that captured two men in the area around the time of the shooting. One of the men was seen approaching Pluff before the fatal shot. Law enforcement was able to identify Matthews from the video with the help of his ex-girlfriend, who recognized him from the footage. She had previously reported Matthews for an unrelated assault.
Following his identification, Jose Matthews was arrested on July 31, 2023, and charged with second-degree murder. In February 2024, Matthews pleaded guilty to the charge. Subsequently, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the shooting death of Darnell Pluff. The investigation did not publicly identify the other individuals seen with Matthews at the time of the shooting.
