Young Men Plead Innocent In Drive-By Shooting

Four young men pleaded innocent Monday to aggravated first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting death of college student Corey T. Pittman.

All four - Terrence T. Powell, 19; Abram Potts, 18; James Cavil, 20; and Kimonti Carter, 18 - also face four counts of first-degree assault, the Pierce County prosecutor’s office said. Powell and Carter also are charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

The four, all of the Tacoma area, pleaded innocent to all the charges against them.

Bail was set at $500,000 each.

Under Washington law, aggravated first-degree murder is the only charge for which prosecutors can seek the death penalty. The only alternative penalty is life imprisonment.

In this case, prosecutors must decide by July 2 whether they will seek the death penalty for the four adults. State law bars execution for juveniles.

A fifth defendant, 15-year-old Marcus Carter, also has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder and four counts of assault. No plea will be entered until a judge has ruled on a prosecutor’s request that he be tried as an adult.

Pittman, 19, was killed in a drive-by shooting while he was home from Alabama State University for the summer break. He was a sophomore there, majoring in political science.

He and four friends were heading home from a night out early May 23 when their car was riddled with gunfire in the Hilltop area. Two friends, Irshad Altheimer, 20, and Mashana Gee, 18, also suffered gunshot wounds.

One of the accused, Powell, was a strong safety on the Walla Walla Community College football team. A teammate, Campbell Alefaio, is charged with first-degree murder in a separate drive-by shooting in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood in March.

Alefaio pleaded innocent in the March 29 slaying of Ann Marie Harris, 17, of Alexandria, Va. Pending trial, he remains in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $1 million cash-only bail.