Shooter admits to killing a homeless man at Richland’s Uptown Shopping Center
In a rare move, a shooting suspect pleaded guilty to murder Thursday during one of his first formal appearance in a Tri-Cities courtroom.
Isiah N. Rodriguez, 28, faces up to 24 1/2 years in at state prison after admitting to the second-degree murder of a homeless man at Richland’s Uptown Shopping Center in November.
The Tri-Cities man entered the plea at his arraignment in Benton County Superior Court, about a month after he was brought back from Portland to face the charges.
He won’t be sentenced for several weeks. Prosecutors plan to ask for a 22-year sentence and three years of probation. Under state guidelines, he faces a minimum of 16 years.
Rodriguez was caught on camera shooting Michael Perkins, 36, about 4:10 a.m. on Nov. 16 in a breezeway outside the Uptown center in Richland.
The shooting happened after Perkins defended a woman being threatened by Rodriguez, court documents said.
Rodriguez and another man, Troy A. McCowan, 34, fled after the shooting. Federal and local police arrested Rodriguez near Portland days later, and he didn’t fight extradition back to Washington.
McCowan is charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance and is in the Benton County jail with bail set at $500,000.
Argument in shopping area breezeway
Court documents say security video at the shopping center shows Rodriguez approached three people, including a woman in a light-colored coat and a man in a hoodie.
Rodriguez was carrying a M48 tactical war hammer, a modern version of the medieval weapon with a hammer head and a spike.
Michael Perkins was at a nearby picnic table in the breezeway near Lee’s Tahitian restaurant, court documents said.
Perkins suffered from mental health issues and was known to sometimes sleep in the breezeway, his brother Steaven Perkins previously told the Tri-City Herald.
Witnesses described Rodriguez as being hostile when he spoke with the woman and man for less than a minute before trying to take the woman’s coat.
Perkins stepped in and stripped the war hammer away from Rodriguez, said the documents.
McCowan then arrived. And Rodriguez is seen taking items, including possibly a phone, from the man in the hoodie, said the documents.
The documents said the video shows Rodriguez and Perkins yelling at each other, and another person trying to get between them.
Perkins tossed the hammer on the roof of the shopping center but Rodriguez pulled out a gun and shot him three times, said court documents.
It’s not clear whether Rodriguez had the gun the entire time or if someone else handed it to him.
After the shots were fired, Rodriguez and McCowan could be seen running away, and Perkins was on the ground.