On a summer afternoon in Tacoma, Washington, the life of 28-year-old Jake Red, a Black/African American male, was brought to a violent end. On August 12, 2020, in a commercial parking lot near South 64th Street and South Yakima Avenue, a dispute fueled by jealousy escalated into a fatal encounter. Red was shot multiple times in the neck, back, and abdomen, his death leaving a void in the lives of his family and friends.
The man behind the gun was not a stranger but a close friend and fellow gang member, Dyrell Swinson.
The tragic events of that day were set in motion by Swinson's unfounded suspicions that Red was romantically involved with the mother of his children. Despite Red's repeated denials, Swinson's jealousy festered. The two men, accompanied by a witness, had been together earlier in the day. Later, Swinson pulled up next to the vehicle Red was in and a conversation ensued in the parking lot. It was there that Swinson, after again accusing his friend, retrieved a handgun from his car. With the words, "I think you're playing me," he opened fire on Red. In the immediate aftermath, the witness, who was also a friend to both men, grabbed a gun and fired at the fleeing Swinson.
The search for Dyrell Swinson culminated in a dramatic and dangerous confrontation with law enforcement the following day. When officers located him, Swinson engaged in a shootout, during which he fatally wounded a police K-9 named Ronja and injured her handler with shrapnel. Swinson himself was shot and injured by an officer before being taken into custody. His criminal history revealed eight prior felonies, including sex trafficking of children.
In the end, justice was served for the killing of Jake Red. In November 2023, a jury found Dyrell Swinson guilty of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault, and harming a police dog. The following January, he was sentenced to more than 64 years in prison, bringing a close to the legal chapter of a senseless act of violence that claimed a young life and endangered many others.
