TACOMA, Wash. — In 2021, Lauvale Iese’s family was ripped apart in a hail of bullets. Today, the trial kicked off to hold the man accused of the crime responsible.
“It’s finally getting addressed,” he said. “We’re that much closer to justice.”
Family members of the four victims of the shooting in Tacoma’s Salishan neighborhood came to the Pierce County Courthouse to hear opening statements in the trial of the state against Maleke Pate.
Pate is accused of pulling the trigger that day, killing four people. Three of the victims were members of the same family.
“It’s just like it happened yesterday,” Iese said. “Even though two years had lapsed, it’s still raw.”
In court, the prosecution presented the jury with its case against Pate, going through all the grisly details.
“There was nothing in the air or in the sky that warned the family that this day, Oct. 21, 2021, would be the day that would devastate their lives,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sunni Ko.
Pate’s Defense argued that the evidence was circumstantial.
“You’re going to have to set aside the dramatic part of the story, and the tragedy we did hear, and do your job as jurors,” Travis Currie reminded. “Which is to rule on the actual evidence that appears before you.”
Meanwhile, Iese says as devastating as this has been, he’s learned the value of family, and he plans to be at the trial every step of the way.
“I’ve learned not to be too busy, not to say those goodbyes, and answer those phone calls, definitely,” he said.
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