Suspect charged in Tacoma deadly shooting from April

Charges have been filed against a suspect in a deadly Tacoma shooting from April 18.

Tacoma Police announced Tuesday they arrested 22-year-old Artavious Magee. He has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Magee killed 20-year-old Lehman Tucker.

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Court docs say an 18-year-old woman was angry that another woman was dating her ex-boyfriend, and that he had gotten her pregnant. According to testimony from the other woman, she had been dating the man for seven months, and had faced harassment from the ex-girlfriend the entire time.

In one instance, she told detectives the ex-girlfriend ran her over with her car, then pepper-sprayed her. She also frequently sent messages threatening to fight or shoot her, court docs say.

On April 18, the woman was visiting her boyfriend's friend, Tucker, at an apartment near Yakima Ave and Sixth St. She told Tucker that the ex-girlfriend sent her an Instagram message of her holding a pistol saying she was going to "lite[sic] the place up"—meaning shoot up the apartment. She then received another message telling her to come outside and fight.

Tucker and her boyfriend decided they would confront the ex-girlfriend.

According to court documents, the ex arrived with Magee, and the four got into an argument outside the apartment. The ex-girlfriend alleged to investigators that Tucker and Magee both had guns. The argument escalated, and Magee shot Tucker in the back at least five times, court docs say.

Tucker and his friend ran, but Tucker quickly collapsed from his wounds and was taken to the hospital where he later died.

Witnesses say Magee and the ex-girlfriend got into her white Volkswagen Jetta and sped off.

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She was arrested on April 29 and her cell phone was seized by police. A forensic search of her phone turned up nothing, so she was released after declining to be interviewed. On May 30, she called to ask about having her Jetta released back to her, and police were able to ask her some questions. According to court docs, she admitted to being at the scene of the shooting and said she did not contact police afterward, as she was worried of retaliation from Magee.

Recently, police say another witness came forward who knew both the ex-girlfriend and Magee and had spoken with them. In messages, Magee confessed to the witness that he had "smoked somebody"—shot someone to death—and would "un-send" his messages after to eliminate any record of them. Magee reportedly told them he killed "Rod," which was Tucker's nickname.

Magee has prior felony convictions from 2022 and is barred from owning or holding a firearm.

A warrant was issued for Magee's arrest on June 29, and he was booked into Pierce County Jail on Tuesday.

TacomaCrime and Public Safety