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Police allege 16-year-old killed, injured apartment residents after they ended a late-night party early in north Spokane

The Spokane County Commission last week agreed to extend the signing bonus policy that offers up to $25,000 to new hires. It’s one of several recruitment and retainment efforts the sheriff’s office is engaged in as it looks to fill around 35 vacant positions. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Quinn Welsch quinnw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5469

A shooting that left a man dead and a woman injured on Dec. 18 stemmed from a dispute after the two victims attempted to disperse a party at their apartment, new court documents revealed on Wednesday.

The suspect, a 16-year-old, was arrested the same day as the shooting.

The shooting was also indirectly connected with the accidental killing of 18-year-old Daunte O. Frazier by 20-year-old Jaliauna S. Templeton, who was sentenced to five years in jail this summer for manslaughter.

According to court documents, the dispute arose at the Wedgewood Park Apartments, 212 E. Wedgewood Way, at about 1:10 a.m. after Tavius J. Fry Cooley, 21, and his 18-year-old fiancée told everyone to leave their apartment during a party. The party began at about 10 p.m. and was a celebration of Fry Cooley’s upcoming birthday.

Fry Cooley’s fiancée told police the dispute at the apartment began when the 16-year-old and his twin brother confronted the juvenile sister of Templeton, who was a guest at the party, over the death of Frazier. She and Fry Cooley decided to defuse the situation by telling everyone to leave, even though this upset some of them, court documents said.

Templeton’s sister, however, was still being confronted outside of the apartment and it was causing a disturbance, the victim told police. She and Fry Cooley went outside and asked everyone to quiet down and leave the property. According to the 18-year-old, Fry Cooley did not do anything else to provoke the 16-year-old he produced a handgun and shot both of them.

Fry Cooley and the woman were both taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where Fry Cooley later died.

His fiancée told police she knew the 16-year-old as the brother of another person she invited to the party.

According to Templeton’s juvenile sister, the two brothers coerced her into fighting another girl at the party or else she would get “knocked out,” documents said. After getting the better of the other girl, she was attacked by the older sister of the girl she fought. That’s when Fry Cooley and his fiancée came outside, she told police.

Witnesses told police that a white Pontiac had fled from the scene after the shooting with three occupants. The white Pontiac returned while Spokane police were investigating the scene. Only two occupants were in the vehicle, court documents said.

The owner of the vehicle told police he drove to the Walmart on the Newport Highway, even though he and the other occupant live in south Spokane. Police believe he may have dropped the 16-year-old off before returning.

The 16-year-old was found at his home on the 5000 block of East Buckeye Avenue near Upriver Dam on the same day and arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and first-degree assault. He was taken into custody without incident by members of the department’s SWAT team and the Violent Crimes Task Force, according to a police statement.

Templeton also said she was the target of an alleged gang-related drive-by shooting in May in retribution for Frazier’s death.

Editor’s note: This story was changed on Jan. 9, 2023 to remove the name of the 16-year-old who was arrested in connection to the shooting because he is a minor and was no longer facing charges related to the case as of Jan. 9, 2023.