Same Emerson-Garfield home linked to three shootings in two years

An Emerson-Garfield neighborhood home has seen three shootings in less than two years, with one woman convicted of manslaughter in the first incident and shot at in the next two assaults.

Jaliauna S. Templeton, 20, accidentally shot and killed 18-year-old Daunte Frazier at a Spokane house party in 2020. A judge sentenced her last month to five years in prison for the shooting.

In May, 19-year-old Duane G. Delaney fired shots toward Templeton and her friend, potentially in response to Frazier’s death, they believed. Delaney was arrested and pleaded guilty last week to lesser charges.

Almost one month after Delaney shot at Templeton, witnesses said Jamar R. Wren Jr., Templeton’s ex-boyfriend, fired a round above Templeton’s head during an argument. Wren pleaded guilty last week to second-degree assault and a judge sentenced the 21-year-old to just over 31/2 years in prison.

The violence started early in the morning on Dec. 2, 2020, when Spokane police officers found Frazier dead inside a residence at 2011 N. Jefferson St., which is near Northwest Boulevard, according to court documents. Court records say Templeton shot Frazier after dancing with a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other.

Templeton pleaded in March to first-degree manslaughter before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke III handed down the five-year sentence in August to Templeton, who apologized through tears at her sentencing.

The sentence was less than the 6½-to-8½-year standard sentencing range because Clarke said he took into account Templeton’s young age of 18 at the time of the shooting as well as other factors.

It was over a year later when the alleged retribution shooting happened at the same house.

Around 5:20 p.m. May 14, Delaney, a gang member, pulled into an intersection in a black Dodge Charger across Northwest Boulevard from the Jefferson Street home, according to surveillance video described in court documents.

Delaney got out of the car, jogged to a parking lot on Northwest Boulevard and fired several rounds. Delaney then ran back to the car and drove away, documents said. No one was injured in the shooting.

Templeton and a friend were standing near a gray Chevrolet Captiva, which was struck by two bullets and parked behind the Jefferson Street home. The two had to duck to avoid being shot, documents said.

Templeton told police she believed Delaney was shooting toward her because she killed Frazier, who belonged to Delaney’s gang. Delaney and Frazier are believed to be cousins as well, court records said.

Police received unconfirmed reports of threats from members of the Swavii Crips, which were involved in Templeton’s manslaughter case, toward Templeton as revenge since Frazier was killed, records said.

Delaney was arrested a few days after the shooting on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Delaney is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 4.

The final incident appears to be unrelated to the other two.

On the morning of June 7, witnesses said Wren fired a round above Templeton’s head in her direction during a verbal and physical fight outside the Jefferson Street home where Wren and Templeton lived when they were dating.

Wren told police he got into a verbal argument with Templeton but it was not physical. He said he saw a passenger of a car driving by on Jefferson Street pointing a gun out the window in his direction, so he fired a round from a handgun into the ground to scare the vehicle away.

Wren pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to 43 months in prison, the low end of the 43- to 57-month sentencing range.

Wren also pleaded guilty last week to first-degree theft for an unrelated incident in December. He was sentenced to 22 months in prison for that charge.