Washington woman arrested in killing of a pawn shop chain owner, Oregon police say
The suspect in the killing of an Oregon pawn shop chain owner has been arrested in Florida by the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities said.
Nistasha Tate, 23, of Vancouver, Washington, was arrested Monday at a Tampa Greyhound bus station, according to the Clackamas County (Oregon) Sheriff’s Office.
She faces charges of second-degree murder and robbery in connection with the killing of Jimmy Pearson, the owner and founder of A-1 Hawk Pawn Shops, an obituary said.
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office:
Pearson, 63, was found dead in his Milwaukie home March 3, two days after he had been shot and killed. His body was discovered after one of Pearson’s employees went to check on him because he didn’t show up at work.
An autopsy performed by the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office revealed “the cause of death as homicidal violence.”
Tate became the prime suspect in Pearson’s killing after detectives learned she had visited him March 1 and she had also been pulled over in the vicinity of Pearon’s home the same day. Some of Pearson’s belongings were found in Tate’s car.
Detectives learned over the following weeks that Tate had fled to North Carolina and later Florida.
After a warrant for her arrest was issued, the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Tate as she was about to board a Greyhound bus.
Tate is being held at the Hillsborough County Orient Road Jail without bail while awaiting extradition to Oregon.
