On Wednesday, Justice Henderson, 17, was arraigned on charges of attempted murder in the first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree. The charges are in relation to a shooting in May of this year that was allegedly an act of revenge. Bail was set at $1,000,000.

“This is another example of violence and revenge solving nothing and leading nowhere,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.

Shortly after 5 p.m. on May 4, 2016, Tacoma Police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 1700 block of South 35th Street. The officers found the victim, M. Homan, 63, in a laundry room just past the kitchen. He had been shot multiple times. Officers noted trails of blood through the kitchen.

According to reports, Homan’s girlfriend was staying with him at the time while he recovered from surgery. She reported that she was in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. Using his walker, Homan approached the door, where he recognized one of the people as Henderson, who is the grandson of a former girlfriend of Homan’s. Homan did not recognize the second person, though he was later identified as Marchae Garrison, 17.

When Homan opened the door, his girlfriend said she heard a single gunshot that was followed by several more gunshots. Homan said that Henderson shot him when he opened the door, and then when Homan tried to close the door, both of the young men forced their way into the house, shooting him.

Homan tried to retreat through the kitchen and collapsed in the laundry room. He had been shot in the upper left chest, the left forearm, the right shin, the right buttock, and had a grazing wound to the webbing of his right hand.

In subsequent investigation, police spoke with Garrison and with Henderson’s girlfriend, Melissa Thierry, 18. Garrison and Thierry both admitted to being present that night, though Thierry stated she drove and stayed in the car and Garrison denied having a gun or going into the home.

Thierry reported that Henderson and Garrison were high on Xanax that night. She also reported that Henderson was upset about Homan assaulting Henderson’s grandmother. He said that he had needed to “squash some kind of beef” with Homan.

Garrison and Thierry were arraigned on May 10 at which time Henderson was charged and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Henderson was arrested on July 12 and booked into the Pierce County Jail.

Because of the seriousness of the charges, the defendants will be prosecuted as adults per Washington State law. Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.