In Sunday’s north Spokane shooting, family loses second brother in less than a year

Thomas Baroni-Abrego’s family is reeling from the death of two brothers and two nieces in less than a year.

Baroni-Abrego was shot and killed in an apparent robbery Sunday in north Spokane. His death came seven months after his older brother and two nieces were killed by an alleged drunken driver near Athol, Idaho.

“Never would I have imagined that this much tragedy would plague our family, but here we are drowning in tears,” Baroni-Abrego’s sister Catherine Abrego said in an email.

“In a way it feels selfish to grieve when there is such horror in the world, but at the same time the attack in Brussels seems all the more personal knowing what the families who lost loved one are going through,” she wrote. “Why do we have to live in such a painful world?”

She said Baroni-Abrego, 29, was a rule breaker with a knack for “making a person truly feel loved and cared for.”

But after Baroni-Abrego’s older brother, Mathew-Michael T. Baroni, was killed in September, “the light in Thomas went out,” Catherine Abrego said. Baroni was returning from an early-morning run to deliver copies of The Spokesman-Review to Sandpoint; his daughters Madilyn, 8, and Molly, 6, both died in that crash as well.

Spokane police arrested three people suspected of killing Baroni-Abrego for drugs and money.

Isaiah B. Hamblin, 25; Jacob A. Smith, 19; and Kaitlyn I. Brocher, 18, were jailed Tuesday. A second female, a juvenile, was arrested Wednesday afternoon. Police have identified another male suspect and have a warrant for his arrest.

Baroni-Abrego was shot when he apparently was the victim of a robbery, according to court documents.

On Sunday, Hamblin, Brocher and Smith set up a meeting with Baroni-Abrego. Text messages between Baroni-Abrego and someone Baroni-Abrego believed to be a woman named McKenna indicated the victim believed they were meeting up to trade drugs for sex, according to court documents. However, police believe the texts sent to Baroni-Abrego were not sent by a woman but by Hamblin, court documents said.

The three suspects planned the robbery earlier Sunday evening. Hamblin was “involved with heroin” and needed money, court documents said.

Although Hamblin set up the robbery, everyone involved planned to share the drugs and money, Brocher told investigators.

When they met in the alley behind the Daniel Apartments at 525 W. Sinto Ave., Smith and Hamblin approached Baroni-Abrego. Smith grabbed him by the collar and then Hamblin began shooting, according to court documents. Smith told investigators he did not know Hamblin would shoot.

Baroni-Abrego was transported to a hospital, where he died.

On Wednesday, Hamblin and Brocher appeared in court and pleaded not guilty. Both their bails were set at $1 million. Smith’s court appearance was delayed a day.

Catherine Abrego said Mathew-Michael had always been his younger brother’s protector, helping him find odd jobs and giving him a place to live.

Thomas Baroni-Abrego was a kind man with a big heart who had “an innate way of knowing how to fix things,” Catherine said. However, he made bad decisions and was wrestling with internal demons.

“The sweet and loving brother that we grew up with became dark and wild,” she wrote adding, “It’s hard to believe that he would be capable of some of the ugliness he took part in.”