Teen who shot Tacoma detective sentenced to over 15 years

TACOMA, Wash. - The teen who shot a Tacoma Police detective working on a stolen car emphasis patrol in 2023 was sentenced Thursday to more than 15 years.

Sixteen-year-old Justus Kent was originally charged as an adult with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and obstructing a law enforcement officer.

During Thursday's hearing at Remann Hall, Kent pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree assault with a firearm sentencing enhancement.

Pierce County prosecutors asked Judge Joseph Evans to sentence him to 196 months, or a little more than 16 years. The judge sentenced Kent to 181 months, or just over 15 years.

The lesser amount means Kent cannot automatically appeal the sentence, which would have happened if he was given the maximum time. If he had been convicted on the original charges, he faced 14 to 20 years in prison. Kent also has a prior conviction in 2020 for second-degree robbery.

It all started when officers working with the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force saw a vehicle driving erratically in the area of South 96th and Alaska Street in Tacoma. Once it came to a stop, the occupants fled from the vehicle.

As Detective Brooks searched for them, the then 15-year-old suspect approached his open passenger side window, pointed a .38 caliber revolver and shot him after the detective said, "Don’t shoot me".

Detective Brooks said the suspect appeared to be aiming for his head. The bullet shattered when it hit bone, seriously injuring him.

"Mr. Kent looked directly at me as he pulled the trigger. I still see his eyes looking at me in my nightmares and often have flashbacks to this," Det. Brooks said in court. "An indescribable pain hit me like a sledgehammer, and again I screamed. Mr. Kent was five to 10 feet from me when he shot me, I can only describe as an "intimate moment in time", so close that the revolver caused permanent hearing damage, I now wear hearing aids to hear normal voices and have permanent tinnitus, a loud sharp ringing in my ears at all times, especially when I lay down to sleep at night in a quiet room. The quieter it is, the louder the ringing, often causing me to not be able to concentrate."

Brooks exited his car and the teen came around the back of the vehicle and looked at him. He said he thought the teen was going to shoot him again, but he ran when a TPD cruiser approached.

"Mr. Kent shot me with a .38 special from mere feet away, and used a solid 158 grain lead bullet which shattered my scapula with pieces of the bullet strewn throughout my shoulder and chest. When I use my right arm, and I am right handed, I feel pain, a sharp pain, as well as there are times when I am just sitting and a bullet fragment in my chest wall, doctors describing being between my third and fourth ribs, causes side aches so severe that I cannot concentrate and have to take pain medication. This pain occurs daily," he told the court.

Brooks is very, very lucky to be alive. He has yet to return to duty.

"The ripple effect of shooting a cop. Though he did not plea to intentionally shooting a police officer, it still affects more than just me standing here before you. When I was shot, I was working approximately 65 cases, that’s 65 victims of additional crimes that did not see their case be solved or have accountability. Those cases are still open and waiting for my return, which has not happened yet and the future is unknown. Not only did Mr. Kent shoot me out of cold blood for no reason, but it also means the victims of my cases are in limbo, as well as the citizens of Tacoma lost a protector," he said.

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