On a tragic autumn afternoon in Tacoma, Washington, the life of 22-year-old Raymond Williams was cut short in a senseless act of violence. On October 21, 2021, Williams, along with his girlfriend Natasha Brincefield, 22, his older sister Maria Nunez, 42, and her son, Emery Iese, 19, were fatally shot in the Salishan neighborhood. The devastating incident unfolded around 4:24 p.m.
near the 4200 block of Everett Avenue, leaving a community in shock and a family shattered by immense loss.
Witnesses described a harrowing scene, hearing gunshots and seeing a man armed with a gun in the alley behind the home where the victims were gathered. At the time of the shooting, some of the victims were inside a car in the alley, while others were standing nearby. The gunman was seen firing into the vehicle multiple times. Three of the victims were discovered in the alley. The fourth, Emery Iese, was seen running from behind the house toward the street as the gunman pursued and shot him.
The investigation into the quadruple homicide led Tacoma police to identify Maleke Dominque Pate, 24, as the suspect. An officer who had previously worked as a school resource officer recognized Pate from images circulated by detectives. On October 29, 2021, Pate was arrested at his Tacoma home. A search of his residence uncovered a 9mm handgun with ammunition that matched the ballistics from the crime scene. Pate was subsequently charged with four counts of aggravated murder.
In March 2024, a jury found Maleke Pate guilty of the four murders. Despite his attorneys' arguments regarding his mental health, he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, the profound grief and enduring pain of the victims' families were palpable as they shared their stories of loss. Officials stated that Pate had attended fifth grade with one of the victims, but beyond that tenuous connection, no clear motive for the horrific killings was ever established, leaving a community to grapple with the randomness of the tragedy.
