Man sentenced to 8 years for killing 19-year-old outside NorthTown Mall
An 18-year-old connected to a shooting that left a teen dead outside NorthTown Mall and who was involved in another shooting at the Centennial Hotel will spend more than eight years in prison.
Tayvon A. Koss pleaded guilty last week to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Kash Amos. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tony Hazel sentenced Koss to 100 months in prison as part of a plea agreement.
On Friday, Koss, who wore a yellow Spokane County Jail inmate jumpsuit, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree assault for incidents at the Centennial Hotel and a Spokane Valley Holiday Inn Express. Koss’ sentence, also handed down by Hazel, for those charges will run concurrent with the manslaughter charge.
Hazel said he is rooting for Koss, who committed the crimes when he was 17.
“I hope that you are successful in life,” Hazel said.
Koss chose not to address the court Friday after speaking during his manslaughter sentencing last week.
On the night of April 29, 2021, Koss shot Amos in the head from the passenger seat of a Dodge Challenger in the area of Lidgerwood Street and Wellesley Avenue, on the southeast edge of the NorthTown Mall, according to court documents. Amos was a passenger inside a Chevrolet Cruze. Amos’ brother was sitting next to Amos.
Kash Amos’ younger brother, Norvell Amos, 15, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in October 2020. VaShaughn Eirls, 17, was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison last year for the killing.
Documents said the driver of the Chevrolet dropped off his girlfriend, who was a front-seat passenger, and Amos at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center after the mall shooting. Amos was declared dead at 9:40 p.m., about one and a half hours after the shooting was reported.
The killing appeared to involve gang rivals, Swavii Crips and the 5th Street gang.
The driver of the Chevrolet was a known 5th Street gang member, and his girlfriend lived in a home that had been targeted in a drive-by shooting April 4 of that year in an ongoing feud between the two gangs.
Two days after the Kash Amos shooting, a man believed to be Koss spoke to an inmate on the phone, documents said. The voice believed to be Koss said he was going to turn himself in and the shooting was self -defense.
Koss told the inmate they were stopped at a light and he saw Amos and a 5th Street gang member in a car yelling expletives about the Swavii Crips toward Koss, a gang member, court records said.
“And then Kash started getting out of the car and I seen in his waistband he started like pulling out a silver and black pistol, and I just like got off on him,” the voice believed to be Koss said in documents.
Several suspected gang members were arrested in connection to Kash Amos’ death, including Thurston Scanlon, 20. He is scheduled for sentencing June 17.
Almost four weeks prior to the NorthTown Mall shooting, Koss and others, wearing masks and black hooded sweatshirts, were allegedly involved in a shooting at the Centennial Hotel.
No one was struck.
About 90 minutes prior to the hotel incident, Koss assaulted a teen girl at the Holiday Inn Express in Spokane Valley, according to documents. Video showed Koss punching the girl.
As part of Koss’ sentencing, he will serve three years of community custody when he is released from prison and will be prohibited from owning firearms.
Koss’ attorney, Christian Phelps, said the plea agreement was appropriate and that 100 months – the midpoint of the standard sentencing range for Koss’ manslaughter charge – is a long time for anyone to be incarcerated.
“It’s always troubling to see a youngster go to prison,” Phelps said.