A Washington man has been formally charged with murder after he allegedly shot and killed a plumber over a dispute at his Spanaway home Monday night.
55-year-old Jacques Dothard has been charged with first-degree murder and five counts of unlawful position of a firearm.
Dothard pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Wednesday. He is being held on a $1.5 million bond.
Around 8 p.m. Monday, South Sound 911 received a report of shots fired at a home in the 1000 block of Military Rd E in Spanaway. The caller called 911 just before 8:30 p.m. and the caller reported they could see a body in a truck in front of the home where they heard the shots fired.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said arriving detectives saw Dothard in the driver’s seat of the truck before he retreated into his home. Dothard later surrendered.
Deputies found a 40-year-old man, later identified as Tom Lorezca, with gunshot wounds inside the truck. He was pronounced dead by emergency crews.
Investigators learned the dispute started when Dothard called for a plumber, saying he had run over a drainpipe. When Lorezca arrived, Dothard accused him of hitting his gate before shooting, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Dothard walking up to the driver’s side of Lorezca’s vehicle before firing seven shots, according to charging documents.
After the shooting, the suspect allegedly took a “bag of guns” to a nearby home and asked his neighbor to hold onto them. Six guns were later found at the neighbor’s home, deputies said. Investigators also found several empty and loaded magazines of different calibers, gun cases and a ballistic “military-style” vest with his last name duct-taped to it.
According to the documents, PCSD received a welfare check request from the Veteran’s Crisis Line for Dothard on March 28. It was reported Dothard called the crisis line regarding a dispute with his son. It was reported Dothard threatened to kill his son. The documents said it did not appear the welfare check was ever conducted.
Dothard said during his court appearance that he is on VA disability and that is 100% disabled.
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