Joshua Puloka Convicted of 2021 Triple Homicide Outside Des Moines Sports Bar
Joshua Puloka, 46, has been convicted of a 2021 triple homicide that took place outside La Familia Sports Pub and Lounge in Des Moines, Washington. The King County Superior Court jury delivered a guilty verdict on 10 counts. According to Des Moines Police Chief Tim Gately, “Senseless acts of violence shake our sense of community safety. Law enforcement professionals are committed to holding criminals accountable for their actions.”
On Sept. 26, 2021, Puloka shot and killed three people and injured two others in the parking lot of La Familia Sports Pub and Lounge. Court documents revealed that Puloka was involved in an altercation with one of the victims before the shooting. The victim swung at Puloka, who then began shooting as he fell down. Puloka shot the victim twice in the back as he ran away, killing him. Four other bystanders were shot, and two of them also died from their injuries.
Puloka turned himself in to law enforcement in October 2021. The trial drew national attention this year when a judge prohibited the defense from using AI-enhanced video as trial evidence. NBC News reported it may be the first ruling of its kind in a United States criminal court.
The shooting occurred after an argument between two people inside the bar spilled outside. Eyewitnesses reported that the shooters opened fire on people in the parking lot, where about 200 people were present. Two men and a woman were killed, and three others were badly injured.
Des Moines police reported that there was an argument at about 2 a.m. Sunday that spilled out into the parking lot, where numerous shots were fired. The police stated that they were not 100% sure the victims were related to the suspects. They just know that everybody was there, and it sounds like two people got into a dispute, and other people tried to intervene to stop that.
The defense in the triple homicide case attempted to submit AI-enhanced video evidence, but Judge Leroy McCullough barred its use in a ruling believed to be the first of its kind. The defense argued that their client fired shots in self-defense. Along with the three people killed, three others were hurt.
The video, which has not been released, reportedly shows the shooting. According to court documents, the defense’s expert witness, Brian Racherbaeumer, used “at least one AI enhancement tool to enhance a total of seven videos.” The defense planned to use at minimum one of the AI-enhanced videos recorded by a witness who first shared it on Snapchat. It’s about 10 seconds long.
Racherbaeumer admitted he is not and never claimed to be a forensic video technician and has not been forensically trained. According to his testimony, he began working with video in 1993 and considers himself a videographer and filmmaker. He testified that the reason for using AI on video stemmed from the fact it was of “low resolution and contained substantial motion blur.” He went on to say the tool added sharpness, definition, and smoother edges to objects in the video, whereas the source video contained fuzzier images with blocky edge patterns.
