Suspect charged with murder for fatal July 30 shooting on South Hosmer Street in Tacoma

A day after being arrested for his suspected involvement in a South Tacoma homicide, a 25-year-old Pierce County man has been charged for his alleged role in a fatal shooting on July 30.

Wednesday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Malik Dashun Patterson with first- and second-degree murder. He appeared in court virtually, and entered a plea of not guilty.

Charging papers assert that Patterson killed Ronnal Hines, 39. Patterson, Hines, and Hines’ wife were all at a party at the Econolodge on South Hosmer Street the previous evening.

Video from the lodge’s parking lot shows Hines’ wife speaking with Patterson around 3 a.m. that morning, court records state. Around an hour later, Hines and his wife left and entered a car owned by someone the documents identify as J.M., and were approached by Patterson. Hines drove the couple out of the parking lot, and Patterson immediately followed in another car, records say.

Just after 4:15 a.m., Hines and his wife parked at a convenience store near the 5400 block of South Orchard Street. Security footage from the gas station shows Patterson approaching the car and pointing a gun at the driver seat of Hines’ car, according to records.

Silent footage shows Hines exiting the car, armed with a gun, records state. Later investigation found that the trigger of Hines’ pistol had been broken off, meaning it likely was non-functional.

“There is no audio to the footage, but based on evidence at the scene, gunshots are being fired,” court records state. “The victim travels around his vehicle and appears to suffer gunshots to his legs ... The suspect then stands over the victim and fires his gun into the victim’s head.”

Hines was declared dead by Tacoma Police officers around 5:30 a.m. The surveillance footage and accounts from witnesses suggest that after Hines was shot, his wife and Patterson fled the scene together. Investigators were unable to locate Patterson until this week but arrested him on Tuesday afternoon.

In court on Wednesday, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Philip Thornton set Patterson’s bail at $1 million. Through a victim advocate, Hines’ wife, who attended the hearing with her mother, told The News Tribune that did not want to discuss the case publicly.