A man initially charged with second-degree murder after the shooting death of a man at Brickyard Pub in February 2023 has pleaded down his charge to first-degree manslaughter. His sentencing is scheduled for April 4.

Robert Firstrider, 33, whose last known address was in Federal Way, was initially charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm on Feb. 23, 2023, for the shooting death of Clinton Taylor, 22. However, after pleading guilty, his charges were amended to first-degree manslaughter and third-degree assault, and the unlawful possession of a firearm charge was dismissed.

Details of the incident

According to court documents, the incident began Feb. 17, 2023, around 11:30 p.m., at the Brickyard Pub, 28845 Military Road South. Documents state that after Clinton Taylor arrived, patrons had a dispute, and he became involved.

According to documents, video footage showed Clinton Taylor and Firstrider in an initial exchange outside the front door of the Brickyard Pub, which was broken up shortly after by a stocky male with a green jacket before they were seen walking out of view of the camera. Documents state that Firstrider is seen holding a small black object that appeared to be a pistol in his right hand as he followed behind Taylor and the unknown male.

The documents state that Clinton Taylor and Firstrider were seen going in and out of the bar for 30 minutes, associating with each other, and at one point, Firstrider became agitated toward Clinton Taylor. Documents state that the stocky male with a green jacket is seen getting in front of Firstrider and ushering him back into the bar.

According to documents, a witness said as she was leaving the bar with Clinton Taylor, they encountered Firstrider, the stocky male with a green jacket and a Hispanic male wearing all black. The witness said that Clinton Taylor then remarked that he almost had to fight Firstrider, and then Firstrider began yelling profanities and circling Clinton Taylor.

The witness said that Clinton Taylor and Firstrider then exchanged punches, and moments later, she saw that Firstrider had a pistol in his hands. Documents state that the witness said she and Clinton Taylor were then struck by gunfire, and they both fell to the ground.

Documents state that right after the shooting, at 12:18 a.m., a Dodge Charger sped away from the scene. A witness said he heard two gunshots, and when he looked over, he saw a stocky male with a green jacket fire eight additional shots.

Clinton Taylor suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head and chest, dying at the scene. The female witness suffered two gunshot wounds to her upper leg and underwent surgery, according to documents.

Officers discovered that a bar employee knew Firstrider’s name, and a search through a database found that someone with Firstrider’s same last name had a Dodge Charger registered in their name. Documents state that Firstrider was then located at 1:07 a.m. inside the Dodge Charger outside a closed grocery store about five miles away.

Documents state that Firstrider was the sole occupant, and he had what appeared to be dried blood on the front of his pants. A loaded Walther .22 caliber pistol would later be located in the vehicle.

Officers processed the scene and found one .22 caliber bullet cartridge on the ground in the area of Clinton Taylor’s body, and nine 9mm cartridges. Additionally, during a double-blind photo montage, the female witness identified a photo of Firstrider as looking like one of the suspects, although she said his hair was shorter.

His family’s memories of him

Clinton Taylor’s mother, Alicia Taylor, said all of his family misses him dearly, and she feels like the city that raised him, Federal Way, threw him away like garbage. She said Clinton Taylor made some mistakes in life, and he had, what she calls, growing pains.

Alicia Taylor said six months before he died, he had left incarceration and was turning his life around. She said Clinton Taylor started mentoring young boys, and he was going to church every Sunday.

Alicia Taylor said the day he died, he had been trying to protect a woman from the danger of being assaulted by a man, which ultimately led to his death. She said he always loved everyone and impacted the hearts of everyone around him.

“Clinton was a light. He loved to dance, he loved to go swimming, he loved to rap, he always be doing his music,” Alicia Taylor said. “Clinton was Clinton, man. He wasn’t perfect, none of us are, but he didn’t deserve to be thrown away like a piece of garbage.”

Clinton Taylor’s uncle, D’andre Mann, said Clinton Taylor was the glue in the family. Mann said Clinton Taylor brought the family together, and he never picked sides because he just wanted the family to be united. He said that since his death, the family hasn’t been the same.

Mann said Clinton Taylor had been staying with him at the time of his death, so he was spending a lot of time with him. Mann said the day Taylor died, he fulfilled promises, taking his niece out to eat, and then he went to spend some time with friends at the bar.

Mann said he never saw him again until he had to identify his body, and now all he has to remember him by is photos and a vape. He said Taylor gave him a vape before he died, because he wanted him to quit smoking cigarettes, so now he holds onto it to remember him.

“I miss his smile, his voice, his phone calls, his messages, I miss his sense of humor, just everything about him,” Mann said. “You don’t realize what you miss until it’s gone, and I miss him a lot. He was one of a kind.”

Robert Firstrider’s department of corrections mugshot from March 20, 2017. Courtesy photo