RICHLAND, Wash. – New court documents detailing the events leading up to the Nov. 16 shooting at the Uptown Shopping Center have been obtained by NonStop Local.
At around 4:16 a.m., officers were sent to the 1300 block of Jadwin Avenue for a report of an assault with weapon where they found 36-year-old Michael Perkins with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead minutes later.
The Richland Police Department’s would then get access to video surveillance that showed the events.
At around 4:09 a.m., a man later identified as Isaiah Rodriguez, 28, walked into a breezeway next to Lee’s Tahitian where a group of three were standing and approached them. Rodriguez was reportedly holding a hammer-style weapon.
Footage showed the group having a conversation with Rodriguez while Perkins sat a picnic table in the middle of the breezeway. Upon seeing Rodriguez approach the group, Perkins reportedly moved closer to observe and listen.
Witnesses described Rodriguez as hostile and, after only one minute of conversing, Perkins disarmed the hammer from Rodriguez then retreated back to the picnic table. Another witness later said Rodriguez was trying to steal one of the group member’s jackets and believes Perkins was trying to defend her.
Perkins is later seen holding the hammer which he throws onto the roof of a nearby building. Within seconds of tossing the hammer, footage shows him getting shot at and running away.
A witness later reported seeing Rodriguez raise a firearm and shoot Perkins. Video footage from the front of Lee’s Tahitian showed Rodriguez and an unidentified man running north immediately after the shooting.
Five days later on Nov. 21, RPD Chief Martin Pilcher announced in a press conference that Rodriguez had been arrested in Portland. Rodriguez’s arraignment is set for Dec. 11 with bail set at $1 million.
