In the early morning hours of January 27, 2018, the life of 15-year-old Hector Gonzalez, a Hispanic male, was tragically cut short in a Tacoma, Washington alley. What began as a plan to commit a robbery ended in his own untimely death. Gonzalez and his 15-year-old best friend had devised a scheme to rob an acquaintance of marijuana and a gun. They enlisted the help of the best friend's 15-year-old girlfriend to carry out their plan.
The girlfriend's role was to lure the intended victim
to her home. Once there, Gonzalez and his friend would be lying in wait in a nearby alley, armed with a baseball bat, ready to ambush him. The plan was set into motion, but it quickly took a fatal turn. While the acquaintance was at the girl's house, a gun he was carrying allegedly fell from his pocket. The girl sent a text message to her boyfriend and Gonzalez, alerting them that their target was armed. Undeterred, they replied that they would "take care of it."
As the acquaintance left the girl's house and walked into the alley, he was immediately attacked. He was struck on the head with the baseball bat and punched in the face multiple times. In what would be described as an act of self-defense, the teen who was being assaulted drew his weapon and fired a single shot. The bullet struck Gonzalez in the chest. Police were called to the 5100 block of South Oakes Street around 1:15 a.m. in response to reports of shots fired. When they arrived, they found Gonzalez gravely wounded. Officers administered CPR, but their efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the aftermath of the shooting, three teenagers were taken into custody. The 15-year-old who fired the fatal shot was arrested, as were Gonzalez's 15-year-old best friend and his 15-year-old girlfriend. The investigation that followed revealed the botched robbery plot. Gonzalez's best friend and his girlfriend were subsequently charged with attempted first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. The shooter, however, was not charged in Gonzalez's death, as prosecutors determined he had acted in self-defense during the attack. He did, however, face a charge of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
