Man sentenced to 18 years for 2019 shooting in Everett

EVERETT — A Tacoma man was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison in connection with a 2019 shooting that injured four people at a south Everett apartment.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Karen Moore sentenced Moses Malachi Brewer, 23, two days after he pleaded guilty of first-degree assault for the shooting of Khalil Cobb.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop charges in connection with the other three shooting victims. Witnesses, other than Cobb, provided inconsistent testimony and refused to cooperate, prosecutors said.

On Nov. 21, 2019, Brewer was with a small group who drove to Everett for a candlelight vigil, according to court documents. Brewer wanted to buy Percocet, and a friend took him to an apartment in the 100 block of W. Casino Road, the documents said.

According to witnesses, Brewer entered the apartment around 3 a.m. and spent a few minutes talking and joking. As Cobb bent down to pick cigarettes up off the floor Brewer shot him in the back of the neck, unprovoked, according to court records. Then he shot at three other men inside the apartment, according to the documents.

Prosecutors wrote that one suffered six gunshot wounds, another two and the third was shot in the knee.

Cobb was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with “significant brain issues,” the charges said.

Witnesses reported seeing Brewer leave the apartment with a gun, saying he had run out of bullets. Security footage reportedly showed he and his girlfriend jumping a fence and running.

Brewer and his girlfriend fled the state at some point. Law enforcement in the Houston area arrested the pair in December 2019. Brewer was initially charged with four counts of first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm. Authorities added a witness tampering charge in January 2021.

Brewer has a felony criminal history. He was convicted of two charges of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. As a juvenile, he was convicted of first degree theft, residential burglary and second degree assault, prosecutors wrote.

Under state sentencing guidelines, the defendant faced 13½ to 18 years in prison. Prosecutors and the defense both recommended a sentence in the middle of that range, about 16 years.

For Cobb’s mother, Christina Dunlap, the sentence allowed by state sentencing guidelines was not enough justice for her son.

“Khalil has a lifetime injury, he is not able to live on his own or care for himself,” Dunlap said in court Friday. “Where is the justice for the citizens of Everett?”

Cobb suffered a stroke after being shot, partially paralyzing the right side of his face and giving him aphasia — limiting his ability to speak and complete daily tasks, she said.

His medical bills are around $2 million, Dunlap said.

Khalil Cobb addressed the court Friday with assistance from his father.

Cobb, who could only utter short words, directed a question to Brewer.

“Why?” he asked.

Brewer’s attorneys outlined his upbringing, highlighting how he has barely spent any time out of prison since he turned 11.

“Since age 11, the longest period Moses has spent out of custody was six months,” his attorney said. “Prisonization is a natural and normal adaptation to abnormal and unsafe conditions — it is a means of survival in a dangerous environment.”

In a statement to the court, Brewer said he doesn’t want to be considered a monster.

“I did not walk into that apartment with intentions to hurt anyone,” he said. “It hurts me seeing him the way that I see him now, this is a friend that I met 10 years ago. I just ask that you have mercy.”

When addressing Brewer, Judge Moore chose the maximum sentence allowed by state guidelines.

“Twenty years old,” she said, “And you’re sitting in front of me asking me for mercy. It is no small decision for me to make to send a person of your age to prison.”

Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @EDHJonTall