KENNEWICK — A 36-year-old homeless man remembered for his kindness was killed while trying to defend a woman being robbed outside the Uptown Shopping Center last month, say investigators.
Isiah N. Rodriguez was allegedly attempting to steal the woman’s jacket when Michael Perkins intervened, according to recently unsealed court documents.
Perkins was fatally shot during the confrontation, and Rodriguez, 28, fled to Portland.
He was arrested on a $1 million second-degree murder warrant less than a week later. Oregon court documents show he didn’t fight extradition and is being brought back to Benton County.
A second man also was arrested for allegedly helping Rodriguez flee on Nov. 16.
Troy A. McCowan, 34, is charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance and is in the Benton County jail being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Argument in breezeway
Court documents say security video at the Richland shopping area shows Rodriguez approached three people, including a woman in a light-colored coat and a man in a light-colored hoodie about 4:10 a.m. on Nov. 16.
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.
His brother Steaven Perkins told the Tri-City Herald that Perkins suffered from mental health issues and was known to sometimes sleep in the breezeway area.
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. Documents show there were at least two other people in the area at the time.
That’s when Michael 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 cellphone, from the man in the hoodie, said the documents.
The documents said the video shows Rodriguez and Michael Perkins yelling at each other, and another person tied 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 are seen on the video running away, and Michael Perkins was lying on the ground.
It was two minutes from the point when Rodriguez arrived until the shooting happened.
Finding the shooter
Rodriguez and McCowan sped away in McCowan’s Dodge Durango, according to witnesses and the security video.
The truck was eventually found abandoned in a parking lot in West Richland.
Rodriguez allegedly told someone close to him that he had “done something bad,” and his girlfriend allegedly told people that he had shot someone at the Uptown.
Police identified Rodriguez from the video taken at the Uptown and were able to link McCowan to him.
Officers eventually tracked him to the Portland area where he was arrested Nov. 21 with the help of federal agents and local officers.
