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A 33-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a Tacoma woman because he believed she cooperated with a rape investigation involving his nephew has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Muhammad Takseem Salanoa pleaded guilty July 9 to second-degree murder, admitting to shooting 31-year-old Ngaire Tusi in the head on Dec. 18, 2023 at Oakland Madrona Park in South Tacoma.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Andrews sentenced him the same day, giving him a mid-range sentence that included a five-year firearm sentencing enhancement. Salanoa was originally charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
A codefendant also accused in Tusi’s death, Apelu Tauanuu, pleaded guilty Dec. 12 to first-degree murder, but court records show he has a hearing Thursday regarding a motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
According to court documents, investigators said Tusi, a mother of seven, appeared to have been shot while sitting at a table in a gazebo. Video of the park captured the sound of a gunshot at about 2:30 a.m.
Tusi’s mother told police that her daughter had been accused of being a “snitch” and providing information about 22-year-old James Salanoa, who was wanted for a gunpoint rape and kidnapping that occurred in late November 2023.
James Salanoa was shot and killed by Sheriff’s Office deputies on Nov. 28, 2023, following a police pursuit from Puyallup.
Prosecutor Mary Robnett recently ruled that it was a justified police shooting, writing that the man fled on foot after the pursuit and tried to enter occupied vehicles in traffic while he was armed with a handgun. James Salanoa refused to comply to repeated commands to drop the weapon and was shot multiple times.
James Salanoa was friends with Tusi, her mother told investigators, and they reportedly had many mutual friends. The mother said she knew of Muhammad Salanoa and claimed he was upset about James Salanoa’s death.
Prosecutors wrote in a probable cause document supporting Muhammad Salanoa original charges that the defendant was upset that people were cooperating with the police and providing them with information about his nephew. People who knew Tusi reportedly told detectives she was murdered as retaliation for giving police information about James Salanoa. Ngaire Tusi was found dead at Oakland Madrona Park on Dec. 18. A medical examiner has ruled her death as a homicide.
