Cruel Silence: Washington mom seeks justice for football coach gunned down in AZ | Aftermath – Season 2

PHOENIX - For Tracey DeJohnette, every flight has a destination, but for the people on those planes, some travel with a bigger purpose. For Tracey, there is no looking back; she returns to Arizona for her son, Thomas DeJohnette.

The annual flight from Seattle to Phoenix is predicated on a promise: a promise to her son to get him justice.

What they're saying:

"So, when Thomas was born, He was the first boy in the family, and it was amazing. It was amazing, we were all happy, we're all joyful. We were screaming down the hall, I remember my mom screaming down the hall, ‘it's a boy, it's boy,'" Tracey remembered.

Born in Seattle on Aug. 4, 1996, to Tracey and Leon Curenton, Thomas was a natural athlete surrounded by sisters and family love.

"He was fast, and he had moves. He would lose you, he would do these, you know, these moves, turn around, go this way, go that way, and shake everybody. He'd shake everybody," Tracey said.

Thomas played football for Renton High School and continued with semi-pro football across the Pacific Northwest. He was known as a versatile running back who energized his team with or without the ball.

"He had a nose for the game. He wanted to be a part of everything. Even on special teams. I would put him on the kickoff team every now and then because he'd be one of the first ones down the field and the first one to want to make a tackle," said Anthony Kinney Sr., Thomas’ former coach.

Kinney remembered Thomas’ mentality on the field as relentless.

"He was swung around by his hair. And in the picture that I have, he's parallel to the ground, but still in the air. And he literally put his hand on the ground and stayed up and kept running for like another 20-some-odd yards. He came off the field, and he was like, ‘coach, you see that spin cycle move I put on him?’ I mean, you just can't make that up. That was just his mentality," Kinney recalled.

By 2021, the 24-year-old was paying it forward by coaching youth, just as his father Leon had done.

"He was focused. He was determined. He was ready," Tracey said.

"I told him I was proud of him when he, after the first season, because he was really making strides to be a better coach than I was," Leon said.

February 2021:

On the weekend of Feb. 20, 2021, Thomas was coaching at a youth tournament at the Glendale Youth Sports Complex. That Saturday night, he and friends went to Le Girls Gentlemen’s Club near Washington Street and Loop 202 in Phoenix. Inside the club, he got into a dispute with another man.

It would be his final night alive.

At the time, Tracey and Leon were on vacation in Hawaii. Leon learned the news during a phone call with a Valley hospital.

"And I could still hear his sister's screams in the background, in my head right now, at that point. It was, like, the worst thing we could ever think can happen in our lives at that point," Leon said.

‘Thomas is gone’

Tracey’s daughter then arrived at her hotel room door in tears.

"I opened up the door. Taylor was standing there. They were all visibly shook, and I'm looking at Taylor, and I'm like, ‘What, are you OK? Are you OK?’ I'm looking at her up and down. Like, ‘What, what you're OK’, you know, and she's like, ‘OK. So, it was Thomas, it was just ‘Thomas.’ I'm, like, ‘What do you mean, what?’ ‘Thomas, Thomas, Thomas is gone,'" Tracey said.

Just after 2 a.m. Sunday, the club’s parking lot became a crime scene where Thomas was shot to death.

"From what the people that were with him at the club said, there was a gentleman that maybe he had words with, and they were going outside to fight. I believe that's what Thomas thought was happening because he had indicated to people that he was going to go outside and fight. Yeah, they walked outside and not even 200 feet from the entrance he was killed. It was not far from the entrance where he was," Tracey said.

Dig deeper:

Phoenix Police Det. Willingham, a 17-year veteran of the department, has been with the homicide unit for five years. She said this case has been on her mind for the last several years.

"This is one of those cases that keeps me up at night, like as a homicide detective. I mean, like I said, I've been doing this for five years. This is actually one of my very first cases that I got, and I've been grinding on this thing for the last five years and just nothing," Willingham said.

Willingham said no witness saw Thomas pull a weapon, and there is no indication he started the fight. While they know who he walked out of the club with, they believe the shooter was someone else.

"We know who he walked out with, that was the person who was contacted and detained and interviewed on scene that night. What it seems like occurred was that there was something that occurred outside of the club and happened with someone else other than the person that he walked out of the club with," Willingham explained.

No gun was found on the detained man, and no gun was recovered from the scene.

"So, the casing that was found on scene, as of yet, has not been linked to any other crime scenes or any other casings recovered," Willingham said.

"But somehow, someway, there’s a witness out there somewhere and it's a damn shame, in my opinion, that no one is coming forward. Truthfully," Kinney said.

What you can do:

Anyone with information should contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS. There is a $2,000 reward in this case.

Spanish speakers can call Testigo Silencioso at 480-TESTIGO. Si tiene alguna información sobre este caso, llame a la línea de Testigo Silencioso (480-TESTIGO, 480-837-8446).

You can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

If you'd like to read more about the two other cases in Season 2 of Aftermath, click here.

Map of where Thomas was killed

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