EVERETT — There was something about the gang life that drew Diego Tavares in.
He had been a well-liked student at Olivia Park Elementary School, maybe a bit too chatty in class and quick to race through his math assignments so he could talk to his friends. Teachers called him a delight to have in class.
His parents attended teacher conferences and watched his soccer games. They had moved out of Compton, California, when Tavares was a young boy to provide a safer environment. His dad was said to be strict.
He moved on to Explorer Middle School, where there were some noted discipline issues. There were some early signs that Tavares was impulsive and argumentative.
By his sophomore year at Mariner High School, his parents, friends and teachers started seeing some significant changes in the teenager. He wanted more freedom and grew frustrated at home. He started smoking marijuana and his behavior created more tension in the family. He skipped classes, started fights and adopted a “gangster” look. He also found a new group of friends.
Those friends were gang members.
Tavares was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for his role in a gang-fueled shooting that ended the life of 17-year-old Anthony Camacho. Tavares turned 21 last week.
Tavares was part of a feud between warring south Everett gangs that has resulted in dozens of shootings and multiple arrests. Camacho’s death in 2015 sparked a spike in violence as the gangs sought retribution by way of bullets and bloodshed.
There are signs that the beef is heating up again.
There were two shootings in recent days that are believed to be tied to the ongoing feud. A 20-year-old man was shot in the leg Sunday on Meridian Avenue south of Everett city limits and a 16-year-old was left in critical condition from a shooting last week on Beverly Boulevard in central Everett.
These cases often go without arrests because victims and witnesses are uncooperative with law enforcement. Many of the suspects and victims are juveniles.
While Tavares was being sentenced Tuesday, a jury was hearing more testimony in another gang-related shooting that happened a year ago near Casino Road. The defendant, 17, is accused of taking part in shooting at a rival’s girlfriend while she was seated in her car. Police found multiple casings near an electric box that had been freshly painted with a gang’s initials. The gun is believed to be the same one used in a second shooting in the same area about a week later.
Camacho’s murder was motivated by these feuding gangs, Snohomish County chief criminal deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said Tuesday.
“Initially, Anthony Camacho was targeted and murdered, not for anything he did, but because of where he was and whom he was associating with,” Matheson wrote.
Prosecutors allege that Tavares and two 16-year-old friends, Edgar Calixto and Guillermo Padilla, were out for revenge on Dec. 12, 2015. Tavares told his friends he had been shot at by rival gang members the previous night. They learned through social media that some of their enemies were expected to be at a party in south Everett.
Prosecutors accused Tavares of ambushing the partygoers and pulling the trigger. Camacho was hit in the head as he was standing outside the house.
Tavares maintained Tuesday that he didn’t shoot Camacho, who had been his friend. He apologized for the pain the death caused Camacho’s family. The young man told the judge he plans to start his life over once he gets out of prison.
His attorneys have alleged that one of the other boys is responsible for the shooting. They urged Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair to consider the jury’s verdict in her decision.
Jurors in March convicted Tavares of first-degree murder, but didn’t find he was armed at the time of the killing. They acquitted Tavares of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The defense asked the judge to go below the standard range as established by the state’s Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Amy Kaestner, a public defender, asked Fair to sentence her client to 15 years in prison.
“The jury did not believe that Diego Tavares was the shooter,” Kaestner wrote.
She pointed out that the co-defendants were sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. They received reduced sentences for cooperating with the state. Kaestner alleged that the teens repeatedly lied to police and continued to present misleading testimony during trial.
Her client has been the only defendant to show remorse for Camacho’s death, Kaestner said. He didn’t brag about it on social media to increase his standing in the gang as the others did, she said. He also didn’t try to cover up his involvement.
Kaestner asked the judge to consider her client’s age at the time of the offense. The defense provided the court with a mitigation report that included information about the defendant’s background. He was 19 at the time of the shooting.
Fair said she considered the jury’s verdict and the defendant’s age in reaching her decision.
“Diego Tavares is young but he was certainly old enough to know better,” Fair said. “His choices brought us to this very sad day.”
There were plenty of opportunities for him and the others to abandon their plans for violence. While their youth might contribute to impulsive actions, the shooting wasn’t done in the heat of the moment, Fair said. They talked about it, acquired a gun and acted on their plans.
The judge said she is left puzzled by Tavares’ choices. By all accounts, he came from a loving home and his parents and friends attempted to steer him away from the violence and drugs inherent in gang life.
“The court is puzzled why he chose a completely different path,” Fair said.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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