Man charged with murder in Tacoma stabbing

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A 24-year-old Tacoma man who allegedly told police he stabbed a man as part of a local gang initiation has been charged with first-degree murder.


The Pierce County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release Jose Jonael Ayala Reyes was charged Monday.

Tacoma police say they were called April 28 and found Samuel Cruces Vasquez lying in a road bleeding near his vehicle. Police say they found a butterfly knife nearby. Vasquez was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma.

Police say investigation led them to arrest Reyes, who told them he stabbed Vasquez in the leg but denied stabbing him anywhere else.

Reyes remains in jail on $2 million bail.