Man was shot and killed when he tried to break up a fight in Tacoma, charges say
A 19-year-old man was charged in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred in Tacoma last week.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Zachariah Burnett Lovett with second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of firearm, court records show. Lovett was arrested on Tuesday for the shooting that killed a man on June 18.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to confirm the victim’s identity.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Lovett’s behalf at his arraignment on Wednesday. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set his bail at $1 million, records show.
Charging details
Tacoma patrol officers were dispatched at 11:38 p.m. to the 3200 block of East F Street for reports of gunshots. That location is commonly referred to as “The View,” charging documents show. The victim was found on the sidewalk west of East F Street.
The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and was declared deceased at the scene. An autopsy determined he was shot one time, and the bullet fragment was a .223-caliber rifle round, prosecutors wrote.
Officers located two men hiding in the bushes nearby. One of the men had a firearm that he was ordered to put down. The other man was discovered to be friends with the victim, and they were both in a car together prior to the shooting.
The man with the gun said he lived nearby, heard the gunshots and came outside with his firearm. He thought the behavior of the victim’s friend was suspicious, so he approached him at gunpoint for safety, prosecutors wrote.
Officers found a red Ford Focus parked nearby as well as a gray Hyundai Genesis with the driver’s door ajar. Multiple rifle shell casings were found near the Hyundai, prosecutors wrote.
Through interview with witnesses, detectives learned that the victim drove the Ford Focus to the shooting scene with three people inside. There was another group of people at the location. The victim’s friend got into a fight with the people in the other group, which the victim tried to stop, prosecutors wrote.
The victim and his friend then argued with groups associated with a Hyundai and Chrysler 200. A witness believed the victim was trying to break up that altercation as well. Soon after, gunshots were fired and people started running away, prosecutors wrote.
Detectives learned through a witness who drove the Chrysler that she picked up Lovett and another friend. They met up with their friend associated with the Hyundai. She also saw that Lovett had a firearm, allegedly a rifle, with him, documents show.
Prosecutors wrote that at first people were drinking and smoking. Soon after, people began fighting and moved towards the woman’s Chrysler. She heard the sound of gunshots and confirmed that Lovett was allegedly firing at the group. She was unsure who fired first.
She moved towards the driver’s side of the Chrysler to leave. When she started her car, she said there were “more shots from Lovett and the other group,” prosecutors wrote. When she was driving away, she saw Lovett hanging out the passenger front door and allegedly firing three to four more rounds in the direction of the fleeing group.
Detectives confirmed through surveillance footage that Lovett allegedly fired shots from the rifle outside the front passenger side of the Chrysler. He then went into the Chrysler and allegedly fired towards the direction of the group and victim while hanging out of the window, documents show.
Lovett has prior felony convictions from October 2020 for second-degree robbery and second-degree burglary. He is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, records show.
