She drove 2 burglars to the home where a Pierce County deputy was killed, officials say

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A woman accused of driving two suspected burglars to a Frederickson-area home where a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy was killed has been arrested, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

She was booked early Tuesday into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance.

The News Tribune is not naming the 52-year-old woman until she is charged with a crime.

“She was supposed to be the getaway driver but when everything went sideways, she took off and abandoned them,” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The woman’s relationship to the two suspects was not immediately known.

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Investigators said she knew there a home invasion planned when she dropped two men off about 11:20 p.m. on a corner in the 5100 block of 200th Street East. She was supposed to wait there but when she heard police sirens, she allegedly drove away and waited in a nearby store parking lot.

Henry Michael Carden, 35, was found dead at the scene with a handgun. Frank William Pawul, 32, was arrested on unrelated warrants Monday as a massive manhunt got underway.

It took detectives a few hours before they received a detailed description of the second suspect and realized Pawul was already in jail.

Meanwhile, hundreds of law enforcement officers spent hours searching a 30-block area for any sign of the suspected gunman who killed Deputy Daniel A. McCartney. They brought in a tracking dog, went door-to-door and blocked off several streets, prompting the Bethel School District to cancel classes for all of its school for the day.

McCartney arrived on scene of the home invasion within six minutes of the 911 call and apparently gave chase as the two suspected burglars ran.

They engaged in a “gun battle,” Troyer said.

Pawul is the only one who survived.

He will appear in court Tuesday but charges are not expected to be filed until later in the week.

The woman who drove Carden and Pawul to the home was located late Monday and voluntarily spoke with investigators. She was arrested after the interview.

Other people are believed to have assisted with the crime and more arrests are expected, Troyer said.

KIRO