Murder charge dismissed against man in Tacoma encampment shooting. Here’s why
A murder charge against a man in a Tacoma homeless-encampment shooting has been dismissed after another person came forward allegedly confessing to the homicide.
Joshua Joseph Bishop, 38, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in the Oct. 10 fatal shooting at the 2700 block of South Orchard Street.
Dominic Mayhugh, 43, was identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office as the man killed. He died from a gunshot wound to the head, and his manner of death was listed as a homicide, according to a news release.
Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett made a motion Friday morning to dismiss Bishop’s charges without prejudice after another man came forward confessing to the shooting. The motion was granted by a Pierce County judge.
The 49-year-old man was booked into the Pierce County Jail Friday at 2:10 a.m. on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to jail records.
Court documents show that in an interview with Tacoma detectives, the man said he was at the encampment when the homicide occurred. He allegedly said that he retrieved a gun and shot Mayhugh after Bishop knocked Mayhugh unconscious.
Bishop had been accused of knocking Mayhugh out during a fistfight around noon with four other people present. He said he ran from the scene because he was afraid that Mayhugh would shoot him with the two pistols he was allegedly armed with. No guns were found on the victim, and the firearm used in the shooting had not been recovered, according to charging documents.
Officers were dispatched at about noon to the encampment after a 911 caller reported the homicide. Mayhugh was found lying in a pool of blood with at least two gunshot wounds to the head.
Bishop denied hearing any gunshots or firing a gun at Mayhugh, documents show.
Decisions on charges against the 49-year-old man likely will happen Monday, according to a spokesperson for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
