4 men sentenced to prison for Tacoma marijuana robbery that ended in gunfire, murder

Peter Talbot
·4 min read
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Four people were sentenced to prison Thursday for their roles in the attempted robbery of a drug dealer in Tacoma that ended with the dealer shot and a 19-year-old man killed over a little more than an ounce of marijuana.

Pierce County prosecutors said the defendants — Jeremy Curts, 24; Dijong Long, 21; Armani Young, 19 — were all armed with firearms when they approached the dealer in a car parked outside an apartment complex on Hilltop in January 2021. With him in the vehicle was Kieyree Spencer, a 22-year-old described by prosecutors as a close friend. The plan was to pay for the weed with a fake $100 bill, but instead Curts stuck his arm in the car and fired his gun multiple times, killing Spencer and wounding the dealer.

The three gunmen, and a fourth man who helped arrange the drug deal, Lester Lewis Jr., 38, pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to various charges. Curts pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, Lewis and Young pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and Long pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted robbery.

Judge Timothy Ashcraft handed down the punishments:

  • Curts: 23 years, four months

  • Lewis: 20 years

  • Young: 8 years, six months

  • Long: 5 years

In court filings, prosecutors said Curts was the most culpable for firing at the victims, but criminal blame in Spencer’s death fell on all of them.

“One 22-year-old is dead, and one 19-year-old shot and injured during what was, from the victims’ perspective, a planned sale of a small quantity of marijuana,” deputy prosecutors Gregory Greer and Adam Roberts wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Drug deals can be deadly, but the taking of a life under the circumstances in this case makes little sense.”

Spencer was described in an obituary as a man with an “electrifying charisma” who could light up a room with his smile. He excelled at sports, loved water activities and had a passion for tennis shoes.

Before the defendants were sentenced, all made statements to the court. Lewis’s attorney, Stephen Johnson, told The News Tribune his client said he was incredibly sorry for what happened and for the pain and suffering inflicted on the victims and their families. Young’s attorney, John Meske, wrote in court filings that his client has shown great remorse for the loss of one man’s life and the injuries suffered by another.

Attorneys for the other defendants did not respond to phone calls requesting comment.

Tacoma Police Department responded to the shooting on Jan. 18, 2021 at about 7:25 p.m. when the cannabis dealer sought help from employees at a convenience store in the 1400 block of South Sprague Avenue, according to charging documents. Records state the young man had been shot in the face, arm, shoulder and lower back.

The gunshot victim told police his friend was in a Honda Accord down the street, and officers eventually found a trail of blood leading to the vehicle. Spencer was unresponsive in the front seat. Officers began CPR, but he was declared dead at the scene. The Pierce County medical examiner later found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Inside the car, detectives found two baggies of marijuana that totaled 34.9 grams. A handgun was found on the front passenger seat, but prosecutors said there was no evidence it was fired during the incident.

In court filings, prosecutors said they believe an incident at Curts’ home in Parkland the day of the murder contributed to his decision to fire into the victims’ vehicle. Prosecutors said Curts was playing with a firearm when it suddenly went off, firing a bullet through a wall and into his grandmother’s room. No one was hurt, but Curts’ father reportedly became angry with him, and the two argued before Curts left for the apartment where he met up with Long and Young.

After the fatal shooting, prosecutors said Curts also fired a shot at a passing car before he fled the area.

In a forensic psychological evaluation requested by Curts’ attorney, he reportedly told a psychologist in December 2021 that he was drunk when the shooting occurred, and that he started firing because he thought he heard a round being chambered.

“Mr. Curts reported the other individuals attempted to pay for the marijuana and the individual in the car questioned whether the money was real,” the psychologist wrote. “He reported ‘I’m watching him and I turned around and I hear like a click click like a round being chambered. I flipped out, pulled my gun out and started shooting.’ Mr. Curts reported he then ran and shortly afterward ‘I see the same type of car pull back around coming this way so I started shooting at that car too … it ended up not being the car.’”