Tacoma man allegedly killed by air compressor just hours after suspect was released from jail

A 47-year-old man has been accused of killing another man in Tacoma last November by allegedly beating him to death with an air compressor and a chair in the victim’s home.

As the suspect, Christopher Charles Reyes, faces two counts of first-degree murder, Pierce County prosecutors also found out Reyes was released from jail the same day the murder took place —  Nov. 26.

Pierce County officers were first dispatched to the crime scene just before 10 p.m. that night after a friend of the victim found him unconscious near his home. The victim, William Akers, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics took over and attempted to provide first aid.

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“Officers found a heavy air compressor with blood on the bottom. Prosecutors say the air compressor, as well as a chair, might have been used to beat Akers,” prosecutors wrote in court documents obtained by the Tacoma News Tribune. “Akers also had several skull fractures and other major injuries. The air compressor itself weighed about 34 pounds.”

It was revealed Akers was living in a detached shed on a property that belonged to his father. Akers was an alleged narcotics dealer, Pierce County prosecutors found, and he had drugs in his system when he died, according to an autopsy conducted to help reveal the cause of death. Narcotics and $1,700 were both found on his person during the autopsy.

Court documents obtained by The Tacoma News Tribune revealed, through several interviews with prosecutors, that an alleged robbery against an elderly man who lived on the same property as Akers was set up by the sister of a friend of Akers. But things took a turn and “had gotten out of hand,” the sister told her daughter, revealing her boyfriend, Reyes, allegedly killed Akers.

Akers sold Reyes and his girlfriend drugs earlier that day after they were both released from jail, and when they went back for more that same night, Reyes came back to the car where his girlfriend was and allegedly said, “I think I killed that guy,” court documents read. A second person in the car at the time, the friend of Akers, confirmed these details in a separate interview with prosecutors.

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Reyes entered a plea of not guilty during his arraignment on Wednesday. His bail has been set at $2 million. Reyes previously served jail time for a conviction of fourth-degree assault in 2018 in Snohomish County.

He also served prison time from May 2023 to July 2024, the Tacoma News Tribune reported, and he was arrested and jailed for a probation violation on Sept. 18. He was placed back in jail again for another probation violation on Nov. 14 and was released on Nov. 26 — the day Akers was allegedly killed.

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Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest and producer of the Seattle Seahawks podcast, The Reset with Gee Scott. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.