Suspect arrested on $1M murder warrant in fatal shooting of homeless Richland man
A suspect in the murder of a homeless Richland father was arrested Thursday in Portland, Ore.
Isiah Nathanial Rodriguez, 28, was taken into custody on a $1 million arrest warrant issued earlier this week in Benton County Superior Court, said Richland Police Chief Martin Pilcher.
Pilcher made the announcement at a 6 p.m. news conference Thursday.
Rodriguez is accused of killing Michael A. Perkins, 36, at 4:15 a.m. Saturday in an outside breezeway of the Uptown Shopping Center in central Richland.
Pilcher said they are still investigating what led to the confrontation.
Online court records show he’s from Richland but it’s not clear if he also is homeless.
Perkins suffered from mental health issues, according to his family, and was known to sleep in the breezeway at the Uptown center.
Some witnesses told investigators that Perkins and another man got into a confrontation that morning and Perkins was shot several times in the chest.
Pilcher said witness accounts and security video from the area helped identify Rodriguez.
He was tracked to Portland and arrested Thursday afternoon with the help of other police agencies, including the Kennewick Criminal Apprehension (CAT) Team, Benton County Sheriff’s Office Proactive Team, West Richland Police Department, Portland Police Bureau and the U.S. Marshal Service.
Details about where he was arrested were not immediately available.
It’s unclear if Rodriguez has appeared yet in court in Oregon, and if he’ll waive extradition to be returned to Washington.
Shooting victim
Perkins’ brother, Steaven, told the Herald earlier this week that his brother struggled with schizoaffective disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He said he suffered from delusions, which would leave him arguing loudly with himself.
“I have been letting him stay the night at my place when I was allowed to and doing my best to explain to him why he needed to keep up with treatment,” he said. His lease limited how long his brother was allowed to stay without him.
The combination of his mental health issues made it difficult to get him to seek treatment. When he was able to get help, treatment facilities weren’t able to keep him indefinitely.
The shooting was the sixth homicide in Benton County this year.
This story was originally published November 21, 2024 at 6:47 PM.