A 21-year-old man was sentenced to nine years in prison for manslaughter after his second-degree murder charge for shooting a Decatur High School graduate in the abdomen was reduced as part of a plea agreement.

On June 13, Kajali Camara, 21, was sentenced to 108 months — nine years — in prison for first-degree manslaughter. This charge stems from an April 5, 2023, incident where Camara shot Decatur High School graduate Anthoni Jamez Orozco, 29, during an incident in Seattle, where, according to court documents, Orozco was trying to defuse a situation between Camara and his ex-girlfriend.

With one juvenile felony on his record, Camara had an offender score of two. This put his sentencing range for the crime between 95 and 125 months.

In the felony plea agreement, the prosecution amended Camara’s charge of second-degree murder to first-degree manslaughter and recommended a sentence of 119 months. Camara’s defense recommended a 95-month sentence, citing that Camara was taking full responsibility and the sentence would still punish him severely.

“On April 5, 2023, I recklessly caused the death of Anthoni Orozco, a human being, who died on or about April 5, 2023, when I shot a gun in his direction in King County, Washington,” Camara said in his guilty plea.

According to the defense’s sentencing recommendation, there were a number of factors that warranted that Camara receive a 95-month sentence, such as his mental health history, cognitive functioning, youthfulness and proof issues with the prosecution’s case.

Details of the case

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Camara with second-degree murder and second-degree assault on April 12, 2023. Camara’s bail was set at $2 million.

Orozco was known to loved ones as “AJ.” The medical examiner’s office states Orozco died from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. His death was ruled a homicide.

A GoFundMe for Orozco’s family states his mother, Amy Morris-Ehlo, wants him to be remembered as “an amazing young man with a huge heart, a loving son, and a father who loves his daughter more than anything.”

Orozco died on April 6, 2023, the morning after he was shot.

“AJ was a part of a senseless act,” Morris-Ehlo told the Mirror in 2023. “This shooting should have never happened.”

Charging documents state Camara reportedly had a semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine for a greater capacity of ammunition when he met with Orozco and three witnesses on the night of April 5, 2023.

One of the witnesses is a former girlfriend of Camara’s. She, along with Orozco and two other witnesses, went to confront Camara after the former girlfriend discovered her PlayStation was missing. Documents state she also found Camara reportedly posted intimate videos of their relationship online.

Upon arriving around 8:20 p.m. at Nathan Hale High School, near the 10700 block of 30th Avenue NE in Seattle, Camara allegedly became “enraged” when seeing his former girlfriend and pulled out a gun, documents state.

Orozco stepped between the two, raised both of his hands and told Camara they should talk it out and that there was no need for guns, documents state. Seconds later, Camara allegedly shot Orozco in the abdomen and ran away. Security footage from nearby shows a person matching Camara’s appearance running from the scene.

One of the witnesses told police that seconds after Orozco was shot, Camara allegedly pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire due to a malfunction, documents state.

When Camara was arrested on April 7, 2023, police stated a Taurus 9mm semiautomatic pistol was found on him. The gun had been reported stolen to the Renton Police Department.

After the shooting, Orozco was transported to Harborview Medical Center and underwent hours of surgery. During this time, his mother, who lives in Arizona, received the news about Orozco and rushed to Washington. She made it in time to have one last hour with her son. She called family members to say their goodbyes.

“He is a gentle giant, his heart is bigger than his body,” she said, adding her gratitude for the hospital staff who kept Orozco alive until she could be with him.

Their last conversation together was April 3, 2023. Orozco was telling her about the next steps in his recovery process and how he was proud he was changing his life for himself and his daughter, she said. At the time of his death, Orozco was 13 days sober.

“I want people to see this crime, especially young kids, and to put guns down. To stop. No mother should have to bury their child,” she said. “If this doesn’t stop, a lot more mothers will be burying their children.”

Previous Federal Way Mirror reporting was used in this article.