Handy Corner Homicide: 1 Suspect Arrested, 1 Suspect Dead

TACOMA, WA — One of the suspects identified in the murder of local convenience store owner Soon Ja Nam was arrested this morning, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. The other suspect reportedly washed up dead along the shoreline in Northeast Tacoma on Monday.

Both suspects are 16 years old.

The surviving suspect is being held at Remann Hall at this time. The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office is expected to request a 72-hold for the surviving suspect while detectives continue the investigation, according to Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesman Adam Faber.

"A 16-year-old juvenile suspect in this case was booked into jail for Murder 1 and Robbery 1 and transferred to Remann Hall, where he remains on a no-bail hold," Faber told Patch in an email. "We anticipate that, if charged, he will be tried as an adult."

The surviving suspect was arrested around 7:30 a.m. May 1 after he was spotted in a parking lot in Northeast Tacoma. The body of his deceased 16-year-old co-suspect, who the Pierce County Medical Examiner on Thursday identified as Franklin Thuo, was reportedly found washed up along the shoreline at Chinook Landing Marina, along Marine View Drive in northeast Tacoma, around 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Thuo died from an apparent gunshot wound and had been in the water for several hours before he was found, sheriff's officials said.

The search for the two suspects began immediately after Nam's murder was reported just after 5 p.m. April 28.

Investigators that same night located the suspects' silver 2003 Nissan Sentra along Southwest 326th Street in Federal Way. After the car was towed, it was searched and processed for forensic evidence, sheriff's officials said, noting Thuo was identified via that process.

See Also:

• Handy Corner Homicide: Suspects' Car Found Outside Pierce County

Despite visiting Thuo's last known address in Federal Way, deputies were unable to locate him right away. The following morning, however, Thuo washed ashore dead in Tacoma. He was quickly identified as a suspect in Nam's murder, sheriff's officials said.

Continuing the investigation throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday, detectives followed various leads and tips before finally locating the surviving suspect this morning.

More search warrants will likely be executed over the next several hours as the investigation rapidly develops, sheriff's officials said.

(Sign up for our free daily newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Puyallup Patch)