A 17-year-old Tacoma boy faces a first-degree murder charge for allegedly firing six shots into a vehicle in November 2024 on the West Hill and killing a 21-year-old SeaTac man.
King County prosecutors on Feb. 11 charged Prince J. Mayamba, 16 years old on the date of the shooting, for killing Khamal J. Blissitt on Nov. 21. Mayamba reportedly walked up to a black 2010 Lexus SUV driven by Blissitt while it was stopped at Veterans Drive and Military Road South and fired six shots through the passenger’s side window, according to charging documents. Blissitt died of multiple gunshot wounds, primarily to the right side of his upper body, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Under state law, prosecutors charged Mayamba as an adult because he was at least 16 at the time of the shooting and allegedly committed a serious violent crime. He also faces second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm because he is under the age of 18 and he had pending charges for unlawful possession of a firearm in a previous case, reportedly the same gun used in the shooting.
Mayamba remains in custody at Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle. He is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 24 in room E1201 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle. A judge agreed with prosecutors to set bail at $3 million.
Kent Police had identified Mayamba as a suspect after gathering information from a witness to the shooting, video surveillance from nearby apartment complexes, Ring surveillance video from an apartment and Flock cameras, used by police to capture license plate numbers at intersections throughout the city, according to charging papers.
Police entered a temporary arrest warrant Jan. 15 for Mayamba. Detectives arrested Mayamba Feb. 8 after Tacoma Police responded to Tacoma General Hospital where Mayamba had been dropped off with a gunshot wound to his leg. Tacoma Police learned that Mayamba had a warrant and contacted Kent Police, who took Mayamba into custody after he was treated and released from the hospital.
Although no motivation for the shooting is listed in charging documents, Mayamba and Blissitt met and spoke at least twice, once a few hours prior to the shooting and the second time just minutes before the incident.
About 15 minutes prior to the shooting, Mayamba reportedly had a brief conversation with Blissitt as he drove his Lexus into the Grandview Apartments, which are just east of the intersection where the shooting occurred, according to charging documents. After the conversation, Mayamba jogged uphill to the intersection.
The Lexus stopped in front of the A building at the apartments, where two passengers exited the vehicle and entered the breezeway where Mayamba had previously emerged from. At about 1 a.m., the Lexus is spotted leaving the complex before it heads to the intersection of Veterans Drive and Military Road South.
Earlier that night, at about 7:33 p.m., Mayamba also reportedly spoke to the driver of a dark-colored SUV in the parking lot of the apartments.
After the shooting, which was witnessed by a tow truck driver in the area, Mayamba allegedly jogged back to the apartment complex and got a ride from a friend in a blue 2010 Kia Forte. Detectives eventually tracked down the female driver of that vehicle. The female told detectives she and a girlfriend and three males, including Mayamba, had smoked marijuana at a Grandview Apartments unit prior to the shooting. She said Mayabma left for about 15 minutes and when he returned asked for a ride to Federal Way. She said she didn’t know about the shooting.
Detectives used video surveillance to match the same gray sweatshirt and pants Mayamba reportedly wore at the apartment complex and during the shooting, according to charging papers. Detectives noted that they recognized Mayamba from numerous previous incidents, which were not detailed in court documents. One detective said he had interacted face to face with Mayamba on several occasions.
After the shooting, Blissitt managed to turn his Lexus to go northbound on Military Road South, where he hit some light poles and came to rest in the 23000 block of Military Road South. He died at the scene.
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