22-year-old Auburn man charged with murder in fatal Kent shooting last week

KENT, Wash. -- A 22-year-old Auburn man was charged with second-degree murder Monday in the fatal shooting last week of a 48-year-old victim who he allegedly believed had stole his cellphone.

Jacob Thiel was ordered held in the King County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

He is charged with killing an acquaintance, Geoffrey Sherrard, 48, of Auburn, on Jan. 3 outside the Hawthorne Suites in Kent.

In court documents, police said Thiel admitted in an interview that he was angry about Sherrard stealing his cellphone and other items and confronted him outside the Hawthorne Suites. After an altercation, Thiel allegedly said he shot Sherrard once.

The bullet entered Sherrard's chest and went through his heart. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.