WASHINGTON - ‘Bigfoot’ charged in slaying of robbery accomplice in Marysville

OFF THE WIRE
Diana Hefley
 Herald Writer.
http://heraldnet.com/article/20120218/NEWS01/702189941/1061/COMM0622
EVERETT -- Prosecutors in Snohomish County have charged "Bigfoot" with murder.

Johnathan Frohs, aka Bigfoot, is accused of gunning down a man who accompanied him and others to pull off a heavily armed, highly charged home-invasion robbery in Marysville. Witnesses have told detectives that Frohs may have mistaken Patrick Buckmaster for a rival when Buckmaster walked into the house wearing a hockey mask.
Frohs is accused of shooting the Tacoma man in the head.
In January, Buckmaster, 30, was discovered in a shallow grave in east Snohomish County.
Shortly after his death, a suspected member of the Aryan Family prison gang told Buckmaster's relatives that he'd been taken on a vacation because he had performed so well for an outlaw motorcycle gang during a recent job. The man said Buckmaster's actions had impressed the bikers. Relatives now believe that he was notifying them of Buckmaster's death.
Frohs, 44, is a career criminal whose convictions include assault, extortion, kidnapping and drugs, according to court papers. He was the subject of an alert issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives that advises any police officer who finds him in possession of a gun to notify federal agents.
At a recent bail hearing, prosecutors pointedly noted that Frohs, who reportedly stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 400 pounds, is not a full-fledged member of a particular outlaw motorcycle gang, as law enforcement indicated earlier in court papers. He is believed to be an associate of the gang, an important distinction to those living in that world.
In Snohomish County, a former Hells Angel murdered an Arlington man in 2001 because he believed the man was claiming false ties to the notorious biker gang.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Frohs, 44, with second-degree murder, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and assault. He is being held without bail.
Several other men also have been charged in connection with the Dec. 1 home invasion robbery. They're accused of breaking into a Marysville house and holding two people hostage.
Detectives believe the incident was sparked when two different people robbed a man of $4,700 and drugs. That man apparently rounded up some friends, many who have lengthy criminal histories and gang ties.
They stormed the house in search of the two men. The men weren't there, but they held two people inside the house hostage, demanding money and threatening their relatives.
After Buckmaster was shot, everyone fled the home. Some later returned to clean up and move Buckmaster's body, court papers said.
Detectives who later searched the home noted that someone had made "extensive remodel efforts" in a hallway where the shooting took place, including tearing up carpet and repairing drywall.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.