In the early hours of February 7, 2022, Joshua Ferrell, a 40-year-old male, was in his room at the Econo Lodge motel in a south Tacoma, Washington neighborhood. It was a place where he was known to sometimes deal drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine. On this particular morning, two men arrived in a maroon Lexus and went into his room. Not long after, other residents in the motel heard muffled bangs, and one person heard Ferrell tell the men to "Get out of here."
Shortly after, the two visitors were seen leaving the room and driving away from the motel.
Moments later, Ferrell stumbled out of his room, bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to his shoulder. A female friend who had just arrived in the parking lot saw him in distress and rushed to help. She drove him to a nearby hospital, but the injury was too severe, and he succumbed to his wound. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office later officially ruled his death a homicide. Back at the motel, investigators found a trail of blood leading back to Ferrell's room and learned that drugs belonging to him were missing.
The investigation quickly pointed towards a primary suspect. Police received several calls from people who identified 22-year-old Jeremiah Pauulu Tusi as the man who had shot Ferrell. These callers reported that Tusi, an imposing figure at 6-foot-9 and 300 pounds, had been bragging about robbing and killing him. Based on witness statements and surveillance footage, the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office issued a warrant for Tusi's arrest for first-degree murder on February 11.
On February 15, police located Tusi in a parking lot not far from the scene of the crime. When they attempted to apprehend him, he fled in a vehicle, initiating a dramatic chase. Tusi struck several parked cars and led officers into the neighboring city of Lakewood. The pursuit ended when he crashed into two other vehicles. As police moved in, Tusi was shot and seriously injured by an officer. He was taken to a hospital for his injuries and was later booked into the Pierce County Jail. The second man who was with Tusi at the motel was never publicly identified. Jeremiah Tusi later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to eight years in prison, claiming his unidentified accomplice was the one who pulled the trigger.
