On the evening of April 8, 2022, a sense of disquiet settled over the 8800 block of Pacific Avenue in Tacoma, Washington. Just after 9:00 p.m., the sharp report of a gunshot shattered the night, prompting calls to South Sound 911. Responding officers arrived to a grim scene, discovering an unresponsive male who had sustained a life-threatening injury. Medical personnel quickly transported the man to a local hospital, but his wound proved fatal.
The victim was later identified as 30-year-old Brian Roberts Jr. An autopsy would later confirm that he died from a shotgun wound to the abdomen. A father to three daughters, his sudden and violent death left a void in the lives of his family.
The Tacoma Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation, with detectives and forensic specialists working to piece together the events that led to the fatal shooting. Their efforts soon focused on a 31-year-old male suspect, Jesse Romell Henry. Investigators determined that the motive was a confrontation between Henry and Roberts, who was the new boyfriend of Henry's ex-girlfriend. As probable cause was established, a warrant was issued for Henry's arrest on charges of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Nearly a month after the shooting, on May 5, 2022, the suspect was located and apprehended in Centralia, Washington, by the Centralia Police Department and the Washington State Patrol. He was booked into the Pierce County Jail the following morning. In August 2023, Jesse Romell Henry appeared in Pierce County Superior Court. As part of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of second-degree manslaughter and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The prosecutor's office noted that there were evidentiary issues and a potential self-defense claim that made a jury trial risky. Consequently, Henry was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum penalty for a manslaughter conviction.
