He fatally shot plumber he’d called to his home. Pierce County man now guilty of murder
A 57-year-old Pierce County man pleaded guilty Thursday to killing a plumber he’d called to his home for a repair job, shooting him through his work truck seven times after the victim hit a gate on the property.
Jacques Noel Dothard pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to second-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in the May 23, 2022 shooting. Thomas Lorezca, 40, an employee of Beacon Plumbing, was found dead at Dothard’s Spanaway home after Sheriff’s Department deputies responded there for a report of a shooting.
Deputies searched Dothard’s home and a neighbor’s residence, according to court records, and they found a cache of weapons and ammunition. Records also show that about two months before the shooting, the defendant called a veteran’s crisis line after he allegedly threatened to kill his son.
Prosecutors originally charged Dothard with first-degree murder and four additional counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, but the charges were amended as part of a plea agreement.
Dothard, who has remained in custody on $1.5 million bail for the duration of the case, entered the courtroom with the help of a walker. He said little during the hearing except to answer questions from Judge Pro Tempore Brian Tollefson.
After the hearing, Dothard’s defense lawyer, James Curtis, told The News Tribune that his client was glad the case had concluded and that he could bring some closure to the community and the victim’s family.
According to Curtis, he and prosecutors agreed to recommend that Dothard be sentenced to 21 years, six months in prison. A sentencing hearing was set for Aug. 9.
Prosecutors declined to make any statement after the hearing.
Surveillance video provided by a neighbor showed Dothard and the victim standing outside the truck at 7:55 p.m., according to charging documents, a little more than an hour after prosecutors say the plumber was called to Dothard’s residence. When the victim returned to his truck, Dothard allegedly walked to the driver’s side door and fired into the vehicle.
Dothard was taken into custody without incident outside his home in the 1000 block of Military Road.
Deputies obtained search warrants for Dothard’s home and a neighbor’s, where he reportedly left weapons after the shooting and confessed to shooting someone.
In Dothard’s bedroom, deputies found gun cases for rifles and pistols, three .40-caliber magazines and several empty 30-round magazines. They also discovered a 9 mm handgun on the neighbor’s front porch. In the neighbor’s detached shop, authorities said they found ammunition and a ballistic vest with Dothard’s name on it, as well as four loaded weapons: a Ruger Mini 14 rifle, an AR-15 pistol, a Sig Sauer .40-caliber handgun and a Glock handgun.
Lorezca, who lived in Kent, was a devoted son and a car enthusiast, according to his obituary. The obit noted that he loved his miniature husky dog, Alpine. Lorezca was honored by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries in April last year, according to the Kent Reporter. The ceremony honored workers who died on the job.
