TRI CITIES, WA -- The man accused for murdering three people and robbing half-a-dozen convenience stores in a a trail of destruction that spanned three counties, faced a judge for the first time Thursday.
J. Guadalupe Martinez-Lopez made his first appearance in Grant County Superior Court charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. All the charges have firearm enhancements.
"He confessed to the murder and alluded to the fact that he'd been involved in several other armed robberies," Grant County Undersheriff John Turley told Action News.
In a statement to authorities, Martinez- Lopez said he shot a man named Oaxaca in his car, claiming he was mad at Oaxaca and a group of others for an alleged rape of a young girl in the past. As Oaxaca stumbled into the street, Martinez- Lopez stated he stood over him and fired another round. The body was found on Road 26 near Mattawa.
Witnesses said he then went to a mobile home where the rest of the group lived on Road 24.7. The documents report Martinez-Lopez stood on the front porch, telling the group that "what they did was wrong" and opened fire. Two men died, including Pedro Rivera Sanchez, 21.
The other victims are still not known.
Documents said he then drove to Sunnyside, held up the Pik-a-Pop store in the 1500 block and Hiway Fruit in the 200 block along the Yakima Valley Highway. He bought dinner with the stolen cash, police reported.
At that point, authorities were waiting for him, including Sunnyside, Granger and Grandview police, the Yakima County Sheriff's Office, the Washington State Patrol and the FBI. Coincidentally, Martinez-Lopez pulled right up next to an undercover police car.
"This was just a horrible person that we finally were able to find," Turley said.
Martinez-lopez was known to friends as "Pareja", Lupe or Lupian. Turley said he was a Mexican national who lived in Mattawa. "He had a second grade education, came from Michoacan (Mexico)."
Without U.S. documents, Turley said little is known about his past. But by 24 years old, Martinez-Lopez become known to authorities as a hardened criminal.
"He was living day to day by robbing people at gunpoint," Turley said.
From what we know, his crime spree started November 28th with an armed robbery at the Metro Mart on 10th and Lewis in Pasco. Two days later, he hit up One Stop, less than one mile away from the first robbery.
Two days after that, on December 2, Martinez-Lopez robbed Sandovals, a Basin City convenience store in North Franklin County. He also robbed a customer that happened to be inside. An hour later, Pasco police suspect he high-tailed it back to Pasco, where he's suspected of robbing Atomic foods on 4th Avenue.
"I was not scared but the employee was really shaking, she was crying," Atomic Foods owner Hardip Grewal told Action News after the incident.
At that point, investigators told Action News, they feared he was getting increasingly violent.
And five days later, police said, he did. In a signed statement, authorities said Martinez-Lopez confessed to gunning down three men in a mobile home near Mattawa on December 14.
"I feel sorry for the people in south county because that's truly a good area down there," Turley said.
While Martinez-Lopez scoffed at an alleged rape, he was apparently still untroubled by robbery. A day after the murders, police said he drove to Sunnyside where he robbed convenience stores.
Martinez-Lopez will be arraigned in grant county on the murder charges Tuesday, December 22.
To read the full probably cause statement on the investigation from Grant County deputies, click here.
http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/79576462.html
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