SPOKANE, Wash – The man arrested for a deadly shooting Monday in south Spokane is a convicted felon with a record of shooting into someone’s home.
Spokane Police arrested 25-year-old Modesto Briggs for the shooting at 53rd and Fiske.
Police were called to reports of gunshots around 5 am and found a man dead. Court documents and an online GoFundMe identified the victim as Rashad McGuffey.
Investigators say they believe Briggs and McGuffey knew each other and they had a history of disputes between them.
According to the statement of facts, a witness told police the two got in an altercation on Halloween that ended with Briggs pistol whipping McGuffey. They came in contact again Monday morning when Briggs came to a woman’s apartment and McGuffey was there.
Police say Briggs shot McGuffey who eventually collapsed and died in a nearby street.
Police say after the shooting, Briggs got a ride away from the scene and eventually called his mother to pick him up. Court records show Briggs’ mother saw various news stories and worried he was involved.
Police eventually caught up to Briggs and arrested him as he tried to get away.
According to the statement of facts, Briggs waived his rights and answered officers’ questions. He described what happened Monday morning as a “setup gone wrong” and said because he was recently released from prison, he thought a lot of people in Spokane were out to get him.
Briggs was booked into the Spokane County Jail on second degree murder charges.
Court records show Briggs was arrested in 2019 for shooting into a home on East Wabash. He hit a man in the arm.
Briggs was three months shy of his 18th birthday and pleaded guilty to six counts of second degree assault.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison, but appears to have been released in early 2025.
Briggs is now being held on a $2 million bond. He’s currently on probation from his previous criminal charge.
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