Two men sentenced to 56 years in prison for home-invasion robbery in Lakewood

TACOMA -- Two young men were sentenced to 56 years in prison Friday for a home-invasion robbery in Lakewood in 2014 in which the homeowner shot and killed one of their accomplices. The pair later drove around with their wounded friend in a car before dumping his body in a Federal Way parking lot.

Last week, a Pierce County Superior Court jury convicted the two -- Qiuordai Lewis Taylor, 18, and Duprea Romon Wilson, 20 -- of manslaughter, assault, robbery, kidnapping and burglary.

Prosecutors said that on Nov. 18, 2014, the robbers knocked on the victims' door in Lakewood. When the husband answered, the robbers forced their way in. They tied up the couple and ransacked the house. At some point, the robbers went outside and the husband was able to free himself. He locked the front door and untied his wife.

The couple then retreated to their bedroom and the husband retrieved his handgun from his lockbox. As the robbers were forcing their way back into the home, they fired a gunshot. Once back inside, they went into the bedroom. The husband fired at them, striking Taijon Vorhees twice – once in the abdomen and once in the leg. The robbers fled.

Taylor and Wilson rode around with Vorhees in their car for a considerable amount of time, prosecutors said, and did not seek medical care for him. Police later found Vorhees’ body in the parking lot of a Federal Way apartment complex.

The morning after the robbery, Wilson was arrested on an unrelated charge and booked into the King County Jail. While searching him, officers found the victim’s wedding ring.