Seattle brothers sentenced to 40 years in homeless shooting

SEATTLE — Two brothers were sentenced to 40 years in prison each after they were found guilty of fatally shooting two people and injuring three others during a 2016 robbery at a former homeless encampment, a judge said.

King County Superior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell sentenced 22-year-old James Taafulisia and 20-year-old Jerome Taafulisia on Thursday, ending a case that had previously resulted in two mistrials, The Seattle Times reported.

The shooting occurred on January 2016 at an encampment below Interstate 5 as a result of a planned robbery of a drug dealer who reportedly owed their mother money.

The night of the shooting six masked men, including the brothers, went to the encampment to target Phat Nguyen, who was seated around a fire pit with others. Nguyen was shot in the stomach, but survived.

Nguyen’s girlfriend, Tracy Bauer, and Amy Jo Shinault were each shot in the back, but also survived.

James Tran, 31, and Jeanine Brooks, 45, also known as Jeanine Zapata, died at the scene.

The brothers were minors at the time, but were charged as adults. They stood trial three times — the first two in August 2018 and March 2019 ended in mistrials.

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