Man charged with murder in Tacoma homeless camp shooting
A 38-year-old man arrested for a fatal shooting at a Tacoma homeless encampment allegedly told detectives he knocked the victim out in a fistfight but denied firing a gun or hearing any gunshots, according to charging documents.
Joshua Joseph Bishop was charged Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court with second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf at an arraignment Tuesday afternoon. Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set bail at $1 million.
Bishop is listed as homeless in court records and has criminal history in Washington and California, including felony convictions for third-degree assault. He also has active bench warrants in Cowlitz County and Bremerton.
Court documents don’t describe what led to the fight, whether witnesses confirmed the fight occurred or how it escalated to gunfire.
The victim of the Oct. 10 homicide has yet to be publicly identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office. The shooting occurred just hours before another, unrelated fatal shooting about a mile south of the scene.
Tacoma police dispatched to homicide
Tacoma Police Department officers were dispatched at about noon to the encampment, which is behind a Lowe’s store, after a 911 caller reported the homicide. According to charging documents, officers found the victim lying in a pool of blood with at least two gunshot wounds to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Surveillance video covering the entrance to the encampment allegedly showed Bishop walking in just before 11 a.m. with two females. The video showed him walking quickly out of the encampment at 11:17 a.m. while putting his hood up, records state. A different camera showed him taking off an orange hockey jersey, throwing it over his shoulder and walking into a different encampment.
Two detectives located Bishop and interviewed him. According to the probable cause document, Bishop admitted to arriving at the encampment with two females and getting into a fistfight with the victim. He said four other people were present for the fight.
Bishop allegedly said the victim was armed with two pistols, which were in his pockets during the fight. Police who processed the crime scene found no firearms on the victim or in his vicinity, records show. Officers did find a shell casing nearby, but the gun used in the shooting has not been recovered.
According to the probable cause document, Bishop told detectives he punched the man in the stomach and then struck him again with a “haymaker” punch, knocking him out. He said he fled the scene because he was afraid the victim would wake up and shoot him.
Bishop denied hearing any gunshots, records state, but a witness statement disputed that he left before shots were fired. The witness reported hearing two pops, and, when he checked his watch 15-20 seconds later, he noted it was 11:18 a.m., one minute after surveillance showed Bishop leaving the encampment.
