On the evening of November 21, 2022, in a homeless encampment in the 1200 block of Puyallup Avenue in Tacoma, Washington, 39-year-old male Michael Perdue was inside a tent with his girlfriend and a friend. Their evening was violently interrupted when a 25-year-old man, later identified as Jarmal Packard, entered the tent. Packard believed Perdue owed him Oxycodone and became aggressive when he learned Perdue did not have the pills.
His anger escalated, and he began to repeatedly kick Perdue's friend in the stomach.
Packard then turned his attention back to Perdue, demanding $2,500 within 72 hours. According to witnesses, immediately after making this demand, Packard shot Perdue once in the chest. He then fled the tent and got into a Volvo driven by his girlfriend, 23-year-old Ivory Lynch-Johnson. First responders arrived at the scene, but Perdue was pronounced dead within fifteen minutes of their arrival. His death was the 40th homicide in Tacoma in 2022 and the third to occur on that day alone.
In the weeks following the shooting, investigators identified Packard and Lynch-Johnson as the suspects. They were discovered squatting in a vacant building in Spokane in December. A search of their vehicle uncovered ammunition that matched a shell casing found at the scene of Perdue's murder. Packard and Lynch-Johnson were subsequently arrested.
Jarmal Packard eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement and second-degree assault. In exchange for his plea, charges of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm were dropped. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His girlfriend, Ivory Lynch-Johnson, accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 14 months for her role in the events.
