$2 million bail for 3rd suspect charged in connection to Pierce County deputy’s death

A third person pleaded not guilty at arraignment Wednesday in connection to the fatal shooting of Pierce County sheriff’s deputy Daniel McCartney.

Prosecutors charged 29-year-old Samantha Dawn Jones with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Jones was arrested Tuesday.

Those are the same charges 32-year-old Frank Pawul and 52-year-old Brenda Troyer pleaded not guilty to earlier this month, following the Jan. 7 shooting in the Frederickson area.

Court Commissioner Meagan Foley set Jones’ bail at $2 million.

Troyer is also being held in lieu of $2 million, and Pawul’s bail is $5 million.

Investigators said McCartney was fatally shot when he responded to an armed robbery at a mobile home frequented by drug users and dealers.

Charging papers give this account of what happened:

Troyer drove Pawul and another man, 35-year-old Henry Carden, near the mobile home in the 5100 block of 200th Street East.

Jones also was in the vehicle, which was supposed to be the getaway car.

The men robbed the residents at gunpoint, while the women waited nearby.

One of the victims was able to call 911, and McCartney arrived. Minutes later, he radioed that shots had been fired. Back-up deputies arrived and found him with a gunshot wound to the neck. He died from his injuries at St. Joseph Medical Center.

Investigators found Carden dead at the scene. He also had gunshot wounds, including one to his head that was self-inflicted.

Troyer and Jones fled after they heard gunshots and saw officers arriving in the area, and surveillance video from a nearby grocery store shows them waiting together, after they left the scene.

Police launched a manhunt for the second robber, and arrested Pawul at a police checkpoint about eight hours later.

Troyer was arrested the day after that, after phone records linked her to the crime.

Both she and Jones texted with Pawul after the shooting, asking where he was hiding, records show.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 3:39 PM with the headline "$2 million bail for 3rd suspect charged in connection to Pierce County deputy’s death."