Tri-City half-brothers accused of killing Pasco farmworker after nightclub fight

Two half-brothers are accused of killing a man after an argument between two of them moved from a Richland nightclub to the streets of Pasco.

Simeon C.E. Howard pulled out a gun and opened fire on Thomas Contreras De Leon and his friends after the “two groups exchanged words” early Dec. 30, court documents show.

De Leon allegedly called for Howard’s half-brother, Nathaniel L. Thompson, to meet him near his Pasco home.

De Leon argued with Thompson both inside Joker’s and in the parking lot earlier that night and wanted to settle things with a physical fight, documents said.

The 27-year-old farmworker died when a bullet damaged his heart and right lung.

On Friday, Howard and Thompson made their first appearances in Franklin County Superior Court, one day after their arrests.

Judge Carrie Runge ordered them held on $1 million bail each.

Howard, 34, of Richland, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder, drive-by shooting and first-degree unlawful possession of a 9mm semi-automatic gun.

He was picked up on an arrest warrant after Richland police and the Tri-City Regional SWAT Team blocked off a portion of Thayer Drive on Thursday. He reportedly surrendered peacefully.

Thompson, 26, of Kennewick, is not formally charged. He was taken into custody Thursday after arriving at the Pasco Police Department with his attorney and giving a statement.

Runge found probable cause to hold Thompson on suspicion of premeditated first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and drive-by shooting.

Thompson was released from a Washington state prison two months ago after serving time for forcing his way into the Kennewick home of an acquaintance and shooting the man with a rifle.

Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant told the judge Friday that Thompson’s 2015 convictions for second-degree assault and first-degree burglary are both “strike offenses.”

That means if Thompson is charged with a serious felony and convicted, he could be facing life behind bars without the possibility of release because the new charge could be a third strike, Sant said.

Thompson, in his interview with Pasco detectives, denied any involvement in De Leon’s death but admitted “to having a verbal confrontation” with him on Dec. 29 at Joker’s, court documents said.

Police claim Thompson met up with his half-brother at some point after leaving Joker’s and before heading over to Pasco to continue his fight with De Leon.

Witness Nico A. Rodriguez initially refused to speak with police after dropping off the wounded De Leon at Lourdes Medical Center at 2:54 a.m. Dec. 30.

Rodriguez called the Pasco hospital a short time later to check De Leon’s condition. When emergency room staff handed the phone to Officer John D’Aquila, Rodriguez said he did not want to be involved in the investigation and hung up.

Later that morning he told officials he wanted to talk “because people on the street were upset with him for having abandoned the victim at the hospital” and also some suspecting he was the shooter, documents said.

Rodriguez claimed that he and De Leon were at Joker’s about 10 p.m. when De Leon and Thompson got into an argument.

Rodriguez said that after he and De Leon left the casino, De Leon was upset and called a number of people, according to court documents. He alleged that a suspicious vehicle drove up to De Leon’s South Myrtle Avenue home, an occupant called De Leon over and then a man by the name of “Simeon” shot him.

Detectives got surveillance video from Joker’s management and saw the confrontations between De Leon and Thompson. A nightclub employee also reported seeing two men arguing, documents said.

Rodriguez later told police that when they left Joker’s, De Leon asked him to track down Thompson’s number because he wanted to fight him.

Rodriguez said after getting Thompson on the phone, he handed it over to De Leon and the two agreed to meet on De Leon’s block. De Leon’s friend Christopher Oaks then “began verbally fueling De Leon for the fight,” court documents said.

Howard allegedly drove Thompson and parked at the southeast corner of South Myrtle Avenue and East B Street. They walked toward De Leon, Rodriguez and Oaks, who were standing in the middle of Myrtle, documents said.

Seconds after pulling out the gun, Howard shot at the three men, striking De Leon on the upper left shoulder, court documents said. The trio ran back to De Leon’s house as Howard and Thompson jumped in their vehicle and fled, documents said.

Investigators found several shell casings in the northeast corner of the intersection, and a second batch of casings about 40 yards to the northwest. The casings are 9mm and from three different brands of ammunition.

Howard’s criminal history includes convictions for felony and and misdemeanor no-contact order violations, second-degree robbery for pulling a knife on a man during a marijuana deal and first-degree rendering criminal assistance.

Sant said Thompson’s history involves hindering and multiple obstructing counts dating to 2004, along with a driving under the influence.

Thompson was sentenced in Benton County Superior Court in December 2015 to two years and two months in prison for the September 2014 burglary and assault.

He was released on Nov. 6, 2016, according to a state Department of Corrections spokesman.

Even though Thompson served just 11 months in prison, he would have received credit for the time he spent in county jail while the case was pending. He also would have been eligible for good time while in prison, the spokesman said.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Tri-City half-brothers accused of killing Pasco farmworker after nightclub fight."