Man was getaway driver in the killing of 22-year-old woman at Puyallup park, charges say
A third teenager has been charged in the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old Kingston woman earlier this year in Puyallup.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Ethan Nordgren, 18, with two counts of second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, first-degree assault, drive-by shooting and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show.
Nordgren, Dae’Meion Carmello Purdy, 17, and Noah Loyd-Branch, 18, were arrested on Tuesday in connection to the Feb. 25 death of Gianna Stone. They are accused of killing her during an attempted robbery.
Purdy and Loyd-Branch face the same charges as Nordgren. Pleas of not guilty were entered on behalf of Purdy and Loyd-Branch during their Wednesday arraignments at Pierce County Superior Court. Judge Grant Blinn set Purdy’s bail at $1.5 million and Loyd-Branch’s at $1 million.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Nordgren’s behalf during his Friday arraignment, court records show. Blinn set his bail at $1.5 million.
Charging Details
Nordgren is suspected of being the driver of the vehicle that took Purdy and Loyd-Branch to and from the park where Stone was killed.
Police were dispatched at about 8:50 p.m. to Sam Peach Park for a reported shooting. A group of people, including Stone, was in a BMW at the park. While parked, two to three people walked up to the BMW and pulled out handguns, according to charging documents.
Detectives alleged in police reports that the shooters were Purdy and Loyd-Branch.
The gunmen demanded the group’s property as the BMW driver attempted to drive away. Shots were fired, and one of the bullets went through the back of the BMW, striking Stone’s head. Her friends drove her to the hospital where she later died, prosecutors wrote.
Puyallup police were dispatched to the park, but there was no one there. They found shell casings and later spoke to Stone’s friends, who said that one of the suspects was wearing a BAPE brand hoodie, prosecutors wrote.
Through video surveillance, detectives discovered a silver Mercedes sedan that was seen driving away from the area following the shooting. Detectives pulled the sedan’s license-plate number. On March 1, a Puyallup police officer attempted a traffic stop on the Mercedes, unrelated to the homicide, but it attempted to drive off, prosecutors wrote.
The driver was identified as Nordgren in court documents. The passenger was Loyd-Branch. Officers found a defective tail light on the Mercedes, documents show, which was consistent with the vehicle from surveillance footage the night of the homicide.
Detectives believe the Mercedes that Nordgren drives is the one that was used during the fatal shooting. Witnesses who know Nordgren confirmed that he regularly uses the Mercedes and is not known to allow anyone else to drive it, prosecutors wrote.
Cell-phone records reveal that Nordgren’s phone was shown along the same route the Mercedes was seen dirving to and from Sam Beach Park. His cell data from Feb. 25 are consistent with Loyd-Branch’s and Purdy’s from that night.
Detectives say Instagram posts show several images of Nordgren, Purdy and Loyd-Branch possessing firearms. Nordgren also posted a photo where he is wearing a BAPE brand hoodie, prosecutors wrote.
Detectives arrested Nordgren, Purdy and Loyd-Branch on June 4. Nordgren said he did not know of Sam Peach Park and had never been there. He also denied knowing about the Feb. 25 fatal shooting, records show.
When detectives said his cell records showed him at the park at the time of the homicide, Nordgren said he was at a friend’s house in South Hill. He could not explain why his phone data placed him at the park.
Through video footage and witness statements, detectives determined that Nordgren parked the Mercedes some distance away from the homicide location with its lights off. Purdy and Loyd-Branch allegedly approached the victims’ BMW on foot, documents show. Either Purdy or Loyd-Branch fired shots at it when the vehicle tried to drive away, killing Stone. Nordgren allegedly drove them away following the shooting.
Purdy is being held at Remann Hall, Pierce County’s juvenile detention facility. Loyd-Branch and Nordgren are in custody at Pierce County Jail, records show.
