A Tri-Cities teen is getting a chance to avoid adult prison after a robbery shooting
A Tri-Cities teen will serve an eight-year sentence in juvenile rehabilitation after robbing a man for e-cigarettes.
Tyshawn Brooks, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and first-degree assault in connection with a 2021 robbery that left a man with two gunshot wounds to his leg.
Brooks was 16 when he shot the man during a January 2021 robbery. While he was a juvenile, his case was automatically moved into adult court because of the nature of the charges.
While Brooks admitted to the crimes, he was joined in the court by family members last week who wore shirts that read “Free Tyshawn.”
Brooks does have an lengthy history of juvenile crimes including misdemeanor assault, resisting arrest and illegal firearm possession.
As part of the plea, prosecutors worked out an agreement that will let him serve an eight-year sentence without going to prison.
While the wounds left the victim on crutches for months, he didn’t object to a sentence that went below the nine-year minimum end of the sentencing range, Deputy Prosecutor Kristin McRoberts said.
The goal is to help Brooks avoid becoming a hardened criminal.
Defense Attorney Shelley Ajax said Brooks wants to continue his education.
While Ajax said Brooks’ youth doesn’t forgive his actions, it may help explain them. He has seen an adult jail and is aware of the difference between that and juvenile rehabilitation.
“If we can save one member of our society, I think we take that chance,” she said.
Judge David Peterson allowed the agreement. He noted both sides had put a lot of work into it, and that the state supreme court has held that youth should not be sentenced as harshly as adults.
He also appreciated that Brooks was taking responsibility for his actions.
Robbery
Brooks arranged to buy two boxes of “puffbars” from an 18-year-old on Jan. 8, 2021. Puff Bar is a brand of disposable e-cigarette that are sold individually boxed.
The 18-year-old, who was dropping off the e-cigarettes, had known Brooks since middle school and had arranged to meet him at the Heatherstone apartment complex parking lot.
After stopping in front of one of the buildings, an unidentified man got into the passenger seat and Brooks got into the backseat. The unidentified man pulled out what appeared to be a BB gun and demanded that the victim hand over the e-cigarettes.
The victim handed over one of them, but kept the other tucked near the driver’s side door.
Brooks then demanded the other one. The victim told Brooks and the other man that was all that he had. The two then wanted the man’s wallet, necklace and ring.
After refusing to hand them over, the two became angry and got out of the car.
Brooks walked to the driver’s side window and shot the man twice in the leg.
The two fled while the victim drove himself to a Kadlec free-standing emergency room. He was then taken by ambulance to the Richland hospital.
