A man who shot someone he considered a friend was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Dennis Jacobsen, 32, is a member of the Puyallup Tribe. He and another man, a Muckleshoot Indian Tribe member, were drinking and using drugs the morning of Oct. 21, 2021. The two walked behind a house belonging to the Muckleshoot member on the Puyallup reservation.
Witnesses heard three gunshots, and the victim was found to have been “shot once in the arm and twice in the head, at least once at close range,” the release said. Witnesses then saw Jacobsen drive away, according to records filed in the case, the release said.
Police later went to Jacobsen’s residence and found a handgun with one remaining bullet inside, which matched the ammunition used in the shooting.
Jacobsen’s prior convictions include robbery and unlawful firearms possession in Pierce County Superior Court, according to the news release. He pleaded guilty in June 2024 to “voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during a crime of violence.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg wrote to the court, “The impact of (the victim’s) killing has been felt deeply in the community.’”
He added that the victim’s girlfriend was pregnant with the man’s son.
“(The victim’s) parents are now without a son and the greater Puyallup community has lost another tribal member to a violent tragedy,” Greenberg wrote.
The Puyallup Tribal Police and the FBI investigated the case, the release said. After serving his sentence, Jacobsen will be on five years of supervised release.
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