Washington game wardens were involved in the manhunt for the suspect in last night's shooting death of a state trooper near Gorst.
At 9 a.m. this morning, as Kitsap County SWAT team members closed in on a dingy trailer to the south of Mullinex Road where the man believed to have killed Trooper Tony Radulescu was holed up, three fish and wildlife officers were staged nearby helping to form a perimeter.
According to news accounts the suspect then shot himself once. He died at a Tacoma hospital. He has been identified by the Kitsap Sun as felon Joshua Jearl Blake, 28.
Meanwhile, WDFW's chaplain, Mike Niel, has been with State Troopers to provide help dealing with the emotions of losing Radulescu, 44.
"It's a very sad day for the Washington State Patrol," WSP Chief John Batiste is quoted as saying by the Seattle Times. "He was a father and peer to many of us who was dearly loved. He served this country in the military and was with this organization for about 16 years."
It's not uncommon for the state's wardens to back up police, says Deputy Chief Mike Cenci.
He himself was involved in the encirclement of a man eventually found guilty of shooting another trooper, Scott Johnson, in Pacific County in February 2010.
"Three of us were at the suspect's house within minutes," recalls Cenci.
Johnson recovered and has since been elected county sheriff.
"Those other law enforcement agencies support us, back us up year-round, and in some little way, we repay it," Cenci says.
His crew have tools that may not be available everywhere -- four-wheel drives, big boats, tracking skills and dogs.
And they have an especially close relationship with county deputies, who often work in the same remote, rural lands fish and wildlife officers patrol.
"It's expected that we're going to roll and set up containment," Cenci says.
In memory of Radulescu, he's posted a state warden's badge with black tape across its face on his agency Facebook page.
The trooper, Romanian by birth, had served for 14 years. He leaves at least one son behind.
Our sympathies go out to his family and the state police community.
