Seattle brothers guilty in homeless encampment shooting

SEATTLE — Two Seattle brothers were found guilty Thursday of shooting to death two people and wounding three others during a 2016 robbery at a former homeless encampment known as the Jungle — a case that had previously resulted in two mistrials.

The Seattle Times reports a jury deliberated for 1½ days before convicting James and Jerome Taafulisia, now 21 and 20, of two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree assault in connection with the Jan. 26, 2016 shootings.

The shootings happened during a robbery of a drug dealer at the encampment, when the brothers were 16 and 17. The city shut down The Jungle in October 2016.

The Taafulisias’ younger brother, who was 13 at the time, was convicted in juvenile court of murder and assault charges in the case in 2018. He will remain in custody until his 20th birthday.

On that night, a group approached their robbery target, Phat Nguyen, who was seated around a fire pit with others. Nguyen was shot in the chest. James Tran was shot and died. Nguyen’s girlfriend, Tracy Bauer, and Amy Jo Shinault were each shot in the back. Nguyen, Bauer and Shinault survived.

As the group ran away, one of the shooters fired into a tent, hitting Jeanine Brooks, also known as Jeanine Zapata, in the chest. She died at the scene.