Second suspect arrested in Percival Creek homicide

A second man wanted in connection with a homicide near Percival Creek in west Olympia last month has been arrested in California, according to Olympia Police.

Scott McKasson, 38, was arrested without incident Saturday in Oakland and will be sent back to Thurston County as soon as possible, according to Olympia Police Lt. Sam Costello.

An arrest warrant was issued for McKasson last week. The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office charged him with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree robbery.

Police last week arrested another suspect, Bart J. Wheaton, 26, of Tumwater, who appeared Friday in Thurston County Superior Court. Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax found probable cause for rendering criminal assistance and first-degree robbery charges against Wheaton.

Wheaton’s bail was set at $100,000.

According to court documents, a 911 caller reported hearing gunshots near Cooper Point Road Southwest at about 4:45 p.m. Sept. 22. Officers later found the victim, Daniel Kudro of Olympia, with gunshot wounds under a bridge over the Percival Creek ravine.

Surveillance footage from a nearby gas station shows two men, identified by a witness as McKasson and Wheaton, walking in the area. Another witness reported seeing the men walking out of the woods after gunshots were heard.

According to court documents, a witness later told police he was at a camp in the ravine that day when he heard McKasson and Wheaton planning to rob Kudro. The witness later found Kudro’s body.

After he was arrested, Wheaton reportedly told police he heard McKasson tell Kudro to “get the (expletive) on the ground,” and then heard gunshots, according to court documents. Wheaton said he drove McKasson and his girlfriend to the Amtrak station in Portland and gave him $100.

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Second suspect arrested in Percival Creek homicide."