Police arrest Tacoma murder suspect in Airway Heights

Police arrested a 25-year-old man Monday in Airway Heights who is suspected of killing a person at a Tacoma homeless encampment.

Around 11:30 a.m., a Spokane police officer located a vehicle tied to the Western Washington investigation, according to a Spokane police news release. The unoccupied car was parked at an abandoned business in Airway Heights.

The suspect, Jarmal O. Packard, eventually emerged from the building and was arrested without incident, police said. Airway Heights police assisted in the arrest.

Packard was booked into the Spokane County Jail on an outstanding murder warrant. He will be taken across the state to Pierce County, where he faces charges for the Nov. 21 fatal shooting, Spokane police said.

The Tacoma News Tribune reported court records indicated Packard was charged with first- and second-degree murder, robbery, assault and illegally possessing a firearm. Packard was listed in the Spokane County Jail Thursday night.

The News Tribune said Packard is accused of shooting and killing a person inside a tent over an altercation about pain pills.