Man charged in fatal shooting outside Pierce County bar has been arrested
A man charged in a fatal shooting at a Pierce County bar was arrested late Tuesday.
Frederick Singleton, 30, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault for a March 8 shooting that ultimately killed Fredrick Green Jr., 35, and injured his friend.
Singleton pleaded not guilty at arraignment. Bail was set at $1 million.
Prosecutors issued a warrant for his arrest April 17.
One victim was shot in the leg. Green was shot in the abdomen and died at an area hospital March 26.
Charging papers give this account of the homicide:
Deputies were called to a pub in the 14110 block of Pacific Avenue South about 1:45 a.m. March 8 for a shooting.
After being told two victims drove themselves to St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood, a deputy went there and arrived at the same time as the victims.
Both victims were conscious but neither could say who shot them or why, records say.
A security guard at the bar was able to give descriptions of two men believed to be involved in the shooting and “told the deputies that the two suspects were arguing with other subjects, but did not know any of them,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
The group allegedly went to the parking lot to fight.
Deputies were unable to find surveillance footage of the argument inside the bar, or the fight and subsequent shooting outside.
The security guard was able to point investigators to a Dodge Durango belonging to Singleton that was still parked in the lot.
Six bullet casings were found on the ground, with blood nearby.
Green remained in the hospital until March 26, when he died.
In mid-March, a witness came forward with video of the fight and shooting and provided detectives with Singleton’s name.
Security guards were then able to pull up all the names of people who entered the bar the night of the shooting thanks to an ID scanner used on patrons.
Singleton’s name was on the list.
Investigators spoke with Singleton’s friend who was present during the fight.
The friend said he wouldn’t confirm Singleton’s identity because Singleton was “stunned” and “not in his right mind” at the time of the shooting because he’d been hit in the head so many times during the fight, records say.
He also claimed the victims threatened to go get guns during the altercation.
A security guard backed up the friend’s account that Singleton appeared to be losing the fight, but added that he drew his gun and fired twice.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 10:34 AM.
