Brayton Jay Pascoe, 25, of Aberdeen, is being held in the Grays Harbor County Jail on $500,000 bail on charges related to the shooting death of David Alan Rhodes at a Junction City address early Sunday morning.
According to court documents, an altercation over “a half-sized plastic sandwich bag” of heroin ended with Rhodes, 33, of Aberdeen, shot multiple times with Pascoe’s .22 caliber revolver.
Information provided by the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office to Grays Harbor County Prosecutor Katie Svoboda and included in a declaration of probable cause filed Monday states deputies were dispatched to an address in the 300 block of Hagara Street, near the Sierra Pacific mill in Junction City, around 3:15 a.m. and found Pascoe “running away from the scene.” Pascoe said he had been sprayed with bear mace and was taken to Community Hospital, accompanied by a deputy.
Another deputy made contact with a witness who said there was a deceased male at a shop on Hagara Street. The officer went to the shop and saw a person, later identified as Rhodes, “lying on the ground with a pool of blood around them,” according to the declaration. The shop was thick with bear mace.
The witness told investigators Rhodes had sprayed Pascoe with bear mace while Pascoe was “somewhat passed out,” according to the probable cause document. The two began to fight, and the witness said he “heard some gun shots” and somebody saying “you shot me.”
Pascoe was interviewed and said Rhodes had arrived at the shop Saturday in the late afternoon. Pascoe allegedly told investigators “he had told Rhodes that he was going to ‘take care’ of Rhodes for helping Pascoe clean the shop,” by which he meant giving Rhodes drugs, according to the declaration. Pascoe admitted to dealing drugs and that he had a half pound each of methamphetamine and heroin in a safe at the residence, along with $2,000 cash.
The declaration said investigators discovered a “half-sized plastic sandwich bag” containing suspected heroin near where Pascoe had first been encountered by officers. They said Pascoe agreed to go back to the residence with investigators and showed them where he had tossed the .22-caliber handgun used in the shooting. Inside the safe were the cash, heroin and methamphetamine, according to the declaration.
Pascoe told investigators he had been “scouting” Rhodes during the night to see if he could trust him. Pascoe said he would go to sleep with a bag of heroin in his lap “to see if Rhodes would steal it,” according to court documents. Pascoe said he performed the test several times, each time awaking to see Rhodes had taken the heroin. He said Rhodes became more agitated each time and eventually sprayed Pascoe with the bear mace.
“During the physical altercation, Pascoe pulled out the .22 caliber Sentinel revolver,” read court documents. “Pascoe and Rhodes fought over the firearm. Pascoe said he believed the firearm was discharged four times.” Pascoe told investigators he had placed the gun in his waistband earlier because “he got a bad feeling that Rhodes was up to something,” according to the declaration of probable cause.
On Friday, Grays Harbor County Coroner Robert Kegel said an autopsy Thursday showed Rhodes “died of multiple gunshot wounds” and the manner of his death is homicide.
Currently the charges against Pascoe are murder in the second degree, possessing a stolen firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, and possession of heroin and methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
