Suspect In New World VIP Lounge Killing Enters Please

LAKEWOOD, WA - Lakewood police have made an arrest in the deadly October shooting at New World VIP Lounge. An FBI violent crime task force arrested Monroe James Ezell, 30, on Halloween.

The shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 21 at the club, which is located next to H Mart. About 20 shots were fired outside the club by multiple people. Three people were found at the scene with gunshot wounds.

Terrence King, 28, of Seattle, later died at a hospital. King was in the parking lot outside the lounge when shooting broke out. He was waiting there to pick up his girlfriend, Natosha Jackson, who worked at the club.

At a court hearing Thursday, Ezell entered a plea of not guilty.

He told the judge, "I didn’t do s--t," according to KOMO News.

Here's how the shooting played out, according to a Lakewood police report:

A fight broke out inside the club involving a man named Perry Walls, who was later shot in the foot. The fight spilled out into the parking lot outside the club, and that's when the shooting started.

When police arrived, they found King shot in the back. The other victims were Denzel McIntyre, Pearl Hendrick, and Walls. Those three survived their wounds.

Detectives determined that the gunfire came from three different spots in the parking lot outside the club. Looking at surveillance footage, police could not make out the shooter's faces, but could identity what clothes they were wearing.

Witnesses told police the shooters were at Latitude 84 along Hosmer Street in Tacoma before New World. Police also learned that the shooters were members of the 74 Hoover Crips gang. Lakewood police worked with Seattle gang detectives and the Portland Police Bureau to ID the suspects. Portland detectives were able to identify the men for Lakewood police.

Ezell was arrested in Tacoma, but two other shooters are still outstanding.

Image courtesy Lakewood police