Maleke Pate: Man convicted for fatal ‘execution-style’ shooting of 4 people in 2021 with ‘no cause and emotion’

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

TACOMA, WASHINGTON: A Washington man has been convicted of committing "execution-style" murders involving a mother, her son, her brother, and the brother’s girlfriend.

Maleke Pate, aged 24, was found guilty on Friday, March 22, after being charged with four counts of aggravated first-degree murder. These charges are related to the fatal shooting of four individuals on October 21, 2021 in the Salishan neighborhood of the city.

The victims have been identified as Maria Nunez-Iese, aged 42, her son Emery Iese, aged 19, Nunez’s brother Raymond Williams, aged 22, and Williams’ girlfriend Natasha Brincefield, aged 22.

Pate will be sentenced on April 11, 2024.

What happened in the courtroom?

According to Pierce County attorney Sunni Ko, Maleke Pate "gunned them down with no cause, no emotion, and killed them execution style".

Pate's defense attorney, Travis Currie, argued that prosecutors couldn’t establish his client’s involvement solely based on circumstantial evidence, as reported by the station. 

He urged the jurors to focus on the actual evidence presented and emphasized the importance of their role in delivering a verdict based on that evidence.

Nunez’s husband, who is a pastor, expressed gratitude to investigators and prosecutors for the outcome, stating, “Maria Nunez was my wife. Emery Iese was my son. Raymond Williams was my brother-in-law. Natasha Brincefield was my friend."

He conveyed his relief at the justice served and thanked everyone involved in the case, including the jurors, judge, lawyers, detectives, and witnesses, for their contributions. 

He acknowledged the bravery of the witnesses who came forward, recognizing their role in bringing the case to its current resolution.

Police responded to Everett Street after gunfire was reported

Police received many reports of gunfire on Everett Street around 4.24 pm on October 21, 2021. They found a person hiding in a closet at the home where the defendant’s brother Raymond Williams lived. 

This person said the shooting victims were outside the house. She had just come home from work when she heard two gunshots. She looked out and saw a man with a gun by a car. She hid and heard two more shots. 

Afraid the shooter would come inside, she ran to the east side of the house to try to escape through a window. 

She saw Emery Iese running but he fell down. Then she saw the armed man shoot Iese twice. 

Another witness heard a woman scream and then gunshots, as per Seattle times. 

Someone else said the gunman shot at two people in a car and then at a man, believed to be Williams.

The first officer to arrive found Lese on the ground. They tried CPR but because the shooter might still be around, they moved Lese behind a car to continue. Emmy Iese, Maria Nunez-Iese, and Natasha Brincefield died at the scene. 

Williams was taken to the hospital but died later.

Detectives sent out pictures of the suspect, who was recognized as Maleke Pate by an officer. Pate was arrested on October 29 without any trouble. 

During a search of his home, detectives found clothes like those worn by the shooter and the same bullets used in the shooting. They also found two guns, one thought to be the murder weapon.