DES MOINES, Wash. — Joshua Puloka was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a 2021 triple fatal shooting outside a sports bar in Des Moines.
On Sept. 26, 2021, a fight outside La Familia Sports Pub led to Puloka killing three people.
The fight was caught on surveillance video.
The victims were 26-year-old Ezra Taylor, 32-year-old Antoine Matthews, and 46-year-old Angelia Hylton. Two others were also badly injured.
Last month Puloka was convicted of one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree manslaughter, one count of first-degree assault, and one count of second-degree assault.
The shooting was Puloka’s third strike according to prosecutors.
During Friday’s hearing Selena Taylor, the mother of victim Ezra Taylor, said, “His absence is profoundly felt at every family gathering and every milestone. Every Christmas, every…birthday.”
As Taylor spoke, things got heated and Puloka was temporarily escorted out of the courtroom.
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