Alleged shooters in court for 2016 murder at Jungle homeless encampment

More than two years after the gruesome incident, two adult brothers face murder charges in court for the 2016 shooting which thrust Seattle’s infamous Jungle into the spotlight.

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James and Jerome Taafulisia face two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree assault in King County Superior Court. Jury selection for the brothers began Wednesday, June 13. The trial is tentatively set to begin on June 25.

The brothers allegedly killed two people on January 26, 2016 at the homeless encampment known as “The Jungle.” It has since been cleared out. They are being charged as adults — the brothers were 16 and 17 years old at the time of the shooting. James is now 20, and Jerome is 18.

Police tell The Seattle Times the brothers were targeting a drug dealer when five people were shot as they sat around a fire under I-5. Two people died, and three were injured. The brothers allegedly went to the homeless camp to collect a $500 drug debt for their mother.

Within a few weeks, the brothers were arrested near CenturyLink Field; at a tent under a freeway on-ramp where they lived with their mother. During the investigation, informants allegedly caught the brothers confessing and discussing their murders on a 90-minute video. Those same informants purchased a gun from the brothers that was allegedly used in the crime. That evidence is expect to play a significant role in the trial.

A third, younger brother — who was just 13 at the time — has already been tried in juvenile court and was found guilty of murder in May.

The shooting occurred at the same time that then Mayor Ed Murray was making a speech about the homelessness crisis, pointing to The Jungle as an example of how out of control it was.

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