Dustin Reed Kopp was 32 when his body was found on the morning of October 18, 2016, on a steep embankment near the SR 16 overpass in the 3100 block of South 23rd Street in Tacoma. An autopsy reclassified the case as a homicide, finding a single fatal BB gun shot to the heart that would have caused a rapid death and limited any movement after the wound.

Detectives focused on the homeless encampment beneath the overpass where Kopp lived. Investigators identified 36-year-old Sergio Suarez, who also lived in the encampment, after learning Kopp had accused Suarez of stealing his belongings. Police say Suarez confessed to shooting Kopp in the chest with a BB gun during an argument; officers recovered a BB gun and a jar of BBs among Suarez’s possessions. Suarez was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree assault, arraigned with bail set at $1 million. Reports indicate the shooting occurred the night before Kopp’s body was discovered.