YAKIMA, Wash. -- The body of a man found in an irrgation canal near Granger has been identified as Joseph John, 19, of Yakima.
Coroner Jack Hawkins said John was identified by by dental and medical records as well as clothing that matched a description at the time of his disappearance last December.
An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday.
Sheriffs deputies said the body was found Thursday by a federal employee performing maintenance work on a diversion dam in the Marion Drain near State Route 22 and Track Road.
The body was badly decomposed but Hawkins said the man’s dentist confirmed dental records. John also had a steel plate in his elbow that established his identity, Hawkins said.
John, a Canadian living in Yakima, was last seen with Fernando Figueroa, 20, of Yakima, whose body was found Jan. 7 southwest of Toppenish. He had been shot repeatedly and wrapped in plastic.
No suspects have been announced in Figueroa’s death.
— Leah Beth Ward
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/04/16/coroner-identifies-body-of-man-found-in-canal
Showing posts with label wapato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wapato. Show all posts
Friday, April 16, 2010
Wapato- another body in the canal
GRANGER, Wash. — Yakima County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the discovery of a body in an irrigation canal outside of Granger.
The body was discovered Thursday by a federal worker conducting routine maintenance on a small diversion dam in the Marion Drain near State Route 22 and Track Road, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The body, believed to be that of a man, appeared to have been in the water for several months. It was so decomposed that nothing further could be determined at the scene, according to the news release.
An autopsy will be scheduled today or Saturday to try to identify the man and determine a cause of death, county Coroner Jack Hawkins said.
There was no immediate indication whether the body might be connected to the county’s first reported homicide of 2010.
That case also involved the discovery of a body in the Marion Drain, one of the county’s few irrigation canals that has water flowing year-round.
The body of Fernando Figueroa, a 20-year-old Yakima man, was discovered Jan. 7 southwest of Toppenish. He had been repeatedly shot and wrapped in plastic.
Joseph Ezequiel John, a 19-year-old Canadian man living in Yakima, was last seen with Figueroa on Dec. 30. He was not considered a suspect, but sheriff’s detectives have been unable to find him since Figueroa’s body was found.
No arrests or suspects have been announced in Figueroa’s death.
So far this year, 10 homicides have been reported across the county, most of them in Yakima.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/04/15/body-found-in-lower-valley-irrigation-canal
The body was discovered Thursday by a federal worker conducting routine maintenance on a small diversion dam in the Marion Drain near State Route 22 and Track Road, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The body, believed to be that of a man, appeared to have been in the water for several months. It was so decomposed that nothing further could be determined at the scene, according to the news release.
An autopsy will be scheduled today or Saturday to try to identify the man and determine a cause of death, county Coroner Jack Hawkins said.
There was no immediate indication whether the body might be connected to the county’s first reported homicide of 2010.
That case also involved the discovery of a body in the Marion Drain, one of the county’s few irrigation canals that has water flowing year-round.
The body of Fernando Figueroa, a 20-year-old Yakima man, was discovered Jan. 7 southwest of Toppenish. He had been repeatedly shot and wrapped in plastic.
Joseph Ezequiel John, a 19-year-old Canadian man living in Yakima, was last seen with Figueroa on Dec. 30. He was not considered a suspect, but sheriff’s detectives have been unable to find him since Figueroa’s body was found.
No arrests or suspects have been announced in Figueroa’s death.
So far this year, 10 homicides have been reported across the county, most of them in Yakima.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/04/15/body-found-in-lower-valley-irrigation-canal
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wapato- 2 arrested after shooting at car
WAPATO, Wash. -- A man and a woman were arrested Monday evening in connection with a report that shots were fired at a vehicle in the Wapato area, authorities said.
Wapato police and Yakima County sheriff's deputies were sent about 7:20 p.m. to the area of U.S. Highway 97 and Jones Road because someone in one vehicle was shooting at another, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
The suspect vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta, was found on Sixth Street in Yakima.
The occupants claimed they opened fire because they were being threatened.
The other vehicle was not located. No injuries were reported.
The woman was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment; the man was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/23/two-people-arrested-on-suspicion-of-shooting-at-car
Wapato police and Yakima County sheriff's deputies were sent about 7:20 p.m. to the area of U.S. Highway 97 and Jones Road because someone in one vehicle was shooting at another, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
The suspect vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta, was found on Sixth Street in Yakima.
The occupants claimed they opened fire because they were being threatened.
The other vehicle was not located. No injuries were reported.
The woman was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment; the man was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/23/two-people-arrested-on-suspicion-of-shooting-at-car
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Wapato shooting victim dies
YAKIMA, Wash. — A Wapato man shot in the head Saturday night succumbed to his injuries today.
Manuel Angel Garcia, 28, died about 11 a.m. at Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, where he had been treated since the shooting at a home in the 4500 block of North Track Road, Yakima County Coroner Jack Hawkins said.
Garcia had not been expected to survive the gunshot wound.
He becomes the fourth reported homicide victim of the year in the county.
Garcia was visiting when someone fired multiple rounds at the home. Numerous shootings have been reported in that area, including the 2008 death of a 16-year-old boy who lived at the home Garcia was visiting.
Yakima County sheriff’s detectives, who are handling the case for Wapato police, have not reported any major developments in the case.
A Union Gap man was also fatally shot Saturday night in Yakima.
Yakima police on Tuesday announced the arrest of two Seattle men in connection with 27-year-old James Kilby’s death.
A friend who had called for Kilby to give him a ride was apparently the intended target of the attack, which may have stemmed from a dispute over an informal rap contest, police say. The friend ran into a grocery store and was not seriously hurt.
- Mark Morey
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/02/wapato-shooting-victim-dies
Manuel Angel Garcia, 28, died about 11 a.m. at Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, where he had been treated since the shooting at a home in the 4500 block of North Track Road, Yakima County Coroner Jack Hawkins said.
Garcia had not been expected to survive the gunshot wound.
He becomes the fourth reported homicide victim of the year in the county.
Garcia was visiting when someone fired multiple rounds at the home. Numerous shootings have been reported in that area, including the 2008 death of a 16-year-old boy who lived at the home Garcia was visiting.
Yakima County sheriff’s detectives, who are handling the case for Wapato police, have not reported any major developments in the case.
A Union Gap man was also fatally shot Saturday night in Yakima.
Yakima police on Tuesday announced the arrest of two Seattle men in connection with 27-year-old James Kilby’s death.
A friend who had called for Kilby to give him a ride was apparently the intended target of the attack, which may have stemmed from a dispute over an informal rap contest, police say. The friend ran into a grocery store and was not seriously hurt.
- Mark Morey
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/02/wapato-shooting-victim-dies
YAKIMA, Wash. — Two suspects were arrested Monday in Seattle in connection with a weekend homicide in Yakima.
Police say the primary suspect in the shooting death of James Kilby of Union Gap is a 21-year-old Seattle man.
He and the second suspect, a 23-year-old Seattle man, were arrested after Yakima detectives went to Seattle to watch his house.
The pair arrived there about 1 p.m. Monday in the same vehicle in which they are believed to have fled the shooting scene at the Wray’s grocery store on Third Avenue.
Detectives had tracked down the suspects based on telephone information, Yakima police Lt. Mike Merryman said without elaborating.
Kilby was fatally shot Saturday night after the suspects pinned in his vehicle as his passenger fled into the store, investigators say.
The 19-year-old passenger had called Kilby, who was his roommate, to pick him up after a dispute developed between him and the homicide suspects at a house near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard.
The passenger was assaulted at that location, possibly in connection with a dispute over an informal rap music contest, police say.
“It’s becoming more and more apparent the driver of the car was simply there to pick up his friend — didn’t know what was going on,” Yakima police Lt. Mike Merryman said.
Previous reports have indicated that Kilby was a Kitsap County resident, but Merryman said he was most recently living in Union Gap. He had family ties across the state.
The suspects were booked into the King County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. They are expected to be returned soon to face the charges in Yakima County.
Merryman said detectives are still trying to identify and locate a third person who may have been involved in assaulting Kilby’s roommate.
Police said they waited to announce the arrests until this morning because detectives did not conclude their work in Seattle and return to Yakima until late Monday.
— Mark Morey
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/02/pair-suspected-in-shooting-death-arrested-in-seattle
Police say the primary suspect in the shooting death of James Kilby of Union Gap is a 21-year-old Seattle man.
He and the second suspect, a 23-year-old Seattle man, were arrested after Yakima detectives went to Seattle to watch his house.
The pair arrived there about 1 p.m. Monday in the same vehicle in which they are believed to have fled the shooting scene at the Wray’s grocery store on Third Avenue.
Detectives had tracked down the suspects based on telephone information, Yakima police Lt. Mike Merryman said without elaborating.
Kilby was fatally shot Saturday night after the suspects pinned in his vehicle as his passenger fled into the store, investigators say.
The 19-year-old passenger had called Kilby, who was his roommate, to pick him up after a dispute developed between him and the homicide suspects at a house near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard.
The passenger was assaulted at that location, possibly in connection with a dispute over an informal rap music contest, police say.
“It’s becoming more and more apparent the driver of the car was simply there to pick up his friend — didn’t know what was going on,” Yakima police Lt. Mike Merryman said.
Previous reports have indicated that Kilby was a Kitsap County resident, but Merryman said he was most recently living in Union Gap. He had family ties across the state.
The suspects were booked into the King County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. They are expected to be returned soon to face the charges in Yakima County.
Merryman said detectives are still trying to identify and locate a third person who may have been involved in assaulting Kilby’s roommate.
Police said they waited to announce the arrests until this morning because detectives did not conclude their work in Seattle and return to Yakima until late Monday.
— Mark Morey
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/02/pair-suspected-in-shooting-death-arrested-in-seattle
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Violent Night in the Yakima Valley
YAKIMA--The fatal shooting in the parking lot of Wray's Thriftway was just one of four violent crimes in the Yakima Valley Saturday night.
A 28-year-old Wapato man is on life support after being shot in the head, and two teenage girls were also shooting victims. One of them is six months pregnant.
The gunfire all across the valley has police departments stretched thin and residents worried.
One night. Four crime scenes and so far, no arrests.
Gunfire was heard from Toppenish to Wapato to Yakima.
Police had their hands full nearly all night.
"Our resources get spread pretty thin, Sgt. Tim Bardwell, Yakima Police Department, said. "We rely on other units, the detective unit, our proactive unit, our gang unit to supplement and fill in."
At about 9:00 p.m. Saturday, Wapato police were called to the 4500 block of North Track Road regarding a drive by shooting.
A release from the Yakima County Sheriff's Office said 28-year-old Manuel Angel Garcia of Wapato was inside a house on the block when a bullet came through the front of the building and hit him in the head.
Garcia was taken to a local hospital, where he is in stable but critical condition as of 6:20 p.m. Sunday. Due to the severity of his injuries, the Wapato Police Department turned the case over to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say Garcia did not live at the targeted house.
After a night like this, valley police departments must rely on each other.
"We're going to look at those [different shootings] and say, 'Are those similar in description to what occurred in our jurisdiction?'" Bardwell said.
So far, police haven't found any clear connections.
Neighbors told KNDO they're fed up with the violence.
"Nothing really gets done on the street," Kris Clemmons of Yakima said. "[Police] put a lot more cruisers around and they patrol more, but.."
Clemmons lives a block away from the other shooting Yakima police dealt with overnight.
Two Yakima teenagers were injured early Sunday morning while at a home on the 900 block of South 4th Avenue. The girls, ages 18 and 15, told police they were inside a house when they heard gunshots and were struck. The 18-year-old was hit once in the leg, and the 15-year-old was shot once in the buttocks. Officers say the 15-year-old girl is six months pregnant.
Police did not indicate any suspects, but do believe the shooting is gang-related.
Others KNDO spoke with believe stopping this violence starts with the community offering help.
"Wherever you go there's going to be some shootings. As a citizen, you got to help the community, that's what you got to do."
The final shooting--but first chronologically--happened in Toppenish. An adult male was shot in the torso in a drive by shooting one on East Toppenish Avenue.
The victim told police he was sitting in his car at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday when another car pulled up and a man inside fired several rounds at him.
Toppenish police say the suspect is a Hispanic male wearing dark clothes and believe he is anywhere from 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall. The victim's injuries are not expected to be life-threatening.
Two Yakima teenagers were injured early Sunday morning while at a home on the 900 block of South 4th Avenue. The girls, ages 18 and 15, told police they were inside a house when they heard gunshots and were struck. The 18-year-old was hit once in the leg, and the 15-year-old was shot once in the buttocks. Police say the 15-year-old girl was pregnant. Police did not indicate any suspects, but do believe the shooting is gang-related.
As of 6:20 p.m. Sunday, no arrests had been reported in any of these cases. It is not clear if any of the shootings are connected.
If you have any information, please call Yakima Police at 509-575-6200, Toppenish Police at 509-865-4355, or the Yakima County Sheriff's Office at 509-574-2500.
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=12059026
A 28-year-old Wapato man is on life support after being shot in the head, and two teenage girls were also shooting victims. One of them is six months pregnant.
The gunfire all across the valley has police departments stretched thin and residents worried.
One night. Four crime scenes and so far, no arrests.
Gunfire was heard from Toppenish to Wapato to Yakima.
Police had their hands full nearly all night.
"Our resources get spread pretty thin, Sgt. Tim Bardwell, Yakima Police Department, said. "We rely on other units, the detective unit, our proactive unit, our gang unit to supplement and fill in."
At about 9:00 p.m. Saturday, Wapato police were called to the 4500 block of North Track Road regarding a drive by shooting.
A release from the Yakima County Sheriff's Office said 28-year-old Manuel Angel Garcia of Wapato was inside a house on the block when a bullet came through the front of the building and hit him in the head.
Garcia was taken to a local hospital, where he is in stable but critical condition as of 6:20 p.m. Sunday. Due to the severity of his injuries, the Wapato Police Department turned the case over to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say Garcia did not live at the targeted house.
After a night like this, valley police departments must rely on each other.
"We're going to look at those [different shootings] and say, 'Are those similar in description to what occurred in our jurisdiction?'" Bardwell said.
So far, police haven't found any clear connections.
Neighbors told KNDO they're fed up with the violence.
"Nothing really gets done on the street," Kris Clemmons of Yakima said. "[Police] put a lot more cruisers around and they patrol more, but.."
Clemmons lives a block away from the other shooting Yakima police dealt with overnight.
Two Yakima teenagers were injured early Sunday morning while at a home on the 900 block of South 4th Avenue. The girls, ages 18 and 15, told police they were inside a house when they heard gunshots and were struck. The 18-year-old was hit once in the leg, and the 15-year-old was shot once in the buttocks. Officers say the 15-year-old girl is six months pregnant.
Police did not indicate any suspects, but do believe the shooting is gang-related.
Others KNDO spoke with believe stopping this violence starts with the community offering help.
"Wherever you go there's going to be some shootings. As a citizen, you got to help the community, that's what you got to do."
The final shooting--but first chronologically--happened in Toppenish. An adult male was shot in the torso in a drive by shooting one on East Toppenish Avenue.
The victim told police he was sitting in his car at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday when another car pulled up and a man inside fired several rounds at him.
Toppenish police say the suspect is a Hispanic male wearing dark clothes and believe he is anywhere from 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall. The victim's injuries are not expected to be life-threatening.
Two Yakima teenagers were injured early Sunday morning while at a home on the 900 block of South 4th Avenue. The girls, ages 18 and 15, told police they were inside a house when they heard gunshots and were struck. The 18-year-old was hit once in the leg, and the 15-year-old was shot once in the buttocks. Police say the 15-year-old girl was pregnant. Police did not indicate any suspects, but do believe the shooting is gang-related.
As of 6:20 p.m. Sunday, no arrests had been reported in any of these cases. It is not clear if any of the shootings are connected.
If you have any information, please call Yakima Police at 509-575-6200, Toppenish Police at 509-865-4355, or the Yakima County Sheriff's Office at 509-574-2500.
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=12059026
Monday, January 18, 2010
Wapato home invasion
YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima County authorities were looking today for two men who stole property and cash during a home invasion robbery in the Lower Valley.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release that two men armed with a shotgun entered a home at 30 S. Martin Road at about 11 p.m. Sunday and fired five shots in the air. Martin Road is off Highway 97 between Wapato and Toppenish.
The robbers stole a television, tools and small amount of money from a man in the house. They fled in an unknown type of vehicle.
No injuries were reported.
— Yakima Herald-Republic staff
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/18/cash-tv-tools-taken-in-home-invasion-robbery-near-wapato
The sheriff’s office said in a news release that two men armed with a shotgun entered a home at 30 S. Martin Road at about 11 p.m. Sunday and fired five shots in the air. Martin Road is off Highway 97 between Wapato and Toppenish.
The robbers stole a television, tools and small amount of money from a man in the house. They fled in an unknown type of vehicle.
No injuries were reported.
— Yakima Herald-Republic staff
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/18/cash-tv-tools-taken-in-home-invasion-robbery-near-wapato
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wapato man stabbed 16 times
WAPATO — A 24-year-old Wapato man is in intensive care at a local hospital after being stabbed 16 times Wednesday night, police said.
Alberto Sanchez was standing outside an apartment in the 400 block of West Sixth Street about 11:50 p.m. when he was repeatedly stabbed, said police Chief Richard Sanchez, who is not related.
"We don't know if there was a party going on there or what," according to Chief Sanchez, who said the man was rushed to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital.
Police are still investigating but have yet to identify any suspects.
"No one has provided any information about it," the police chief said. "I'm sure people in the area know who (the suspects) are, but they haven't told us."
There was no sign of robbery, and it's not clear whether the stabbing was gang-related, he said.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/12/31/wapato-man-hospitalized-was-stabbed-16-times
Alberto Sanchez was standing outside an apartment in the 400 block of West Sixth Street about 11:50 p.m. when he was repeatedly stabbed, said police Chief Richard Sanchez, who is not related.
"We don't know if there was a party going on there or what," according to Chief Sanchez, who said the man was rushed to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital.
Police are still investigating but have yet to identify any suspects.
"No one has provided any information about it," the police chief said. "I'm sure people in the area know who (the suspects) are, but they haven't told us."
There was no sign of robbery, and it's not clear whether the stabbing was gang-related, he said.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/12/31/wapato-man-hospitalized-was-stabbed-16-times
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wapato- jury out on shooting that hurt innocent teen
YAKIMA, Wash. — Jurors will resume deliberations this morning in the trial of a man accused of wounding an innocent teen during a gang-related shooting outside of Wapato.
The victim, Jose Salinas, then 16, continues to undergo medical treatment in Seattle from the injuries he received when the bullet slammed into his jaw, traveled down his spine and lodged near his kidneys.
Defendant Joshua Perez, 23, is charged in Yakima County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree assault and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. The trial began Dec. 14.
The incident occurred Feb. 21 on Horschel and Hoffer roads outside Wapato.
Investigators said the shooting followed a confrontation between gang rivals as one side was holding a birthday party for a young girl. Salinas lived in a nearby house, and Perez had lived at his grandmother's house on Horschel Road for several years, authorities said.
There were no eyewitnesses who pointed to Perez as the one who shot Salinas. Authorities identified Perez as the suspect in part because of a statement by a woman attending the birthday party, Mayra Corona, who was also the victim named in the first assault count.
Another witness testified that Corona came into the house where the party was being held soon after the confrontation and said, "That scrap, Josh Perez, shot me."
"Scrap" is a derogatory term used by red-wearing gang members -- historically known in California's Hispanic gang world as Nortenos -- to refer to their blue-wearing rivals, known as Surenos.
Perez's gang-related tattoos include the word "Sureno" above his left eyebrow.
As it turned out, Corona was not wounded, and she had to be brought into court under a material witness warrant.
Prosecution witnesses testified that Corona, known to have gang ties, had asked Perez to identify himself as he and several others were walking along the road in front of the house where the party was taking place.
The first round of shots soon followed in front of the house.
Salinas' brother, Sergio, testified that a second round of gunfire came from the doorway of Perez's grandmother's home. One round struck Jose Salinas, who was inside his house.
Perez's DNA was found on a beer can tossed alongside the road, and several .357-caliber casings and live rounds were found in the front yard of the Perez home.
While acknowledging that Corona did not come across as a star witness, deputy prosecutor David Soukup asked the jury to consider the state's entire case in order to reach a guilty verdict.
"It's a sequence of events that you can see makes sense, especially in the context of the gang," he said in his closing argument.
Defense attorney Amanda Stevens blasted the prosecution's entire case as "hearsay statements, allegations and speculations." She suggested to the jury that detectives had settled for the "quick and convenient" suspect rather than ruling out other possibilities.
She called Perez's sister, Tasha Perez, to testify that she was at the house with her grandmother and other relatives, but not her brother, when the shooting broke out.
Among other points, she questioned whether Sergio Salinas could have seen the muzzle flashes he described as coming from the doorway of the Perez home.
"Or is he wanting justice for his brother, just as any brother would?" she said.
Perez did not testify.
* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/12/21/jury-out-on-shooting-that-hurt-innocent-teen
The victim, Jose Salinas, then 16, continues to undergo medical treatment in Seattle from the injuries he received when the bullet slammed into his jaw, traveled down his spine and lodged near his kidneys.
Defendant Joshua Perez, 23, is charged in Yakima County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree assault and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. The trial began Dec. 14.
The incident occurred Feb. 21 on Horschel and Hoffer roads outside Wapato.
Investigators said the shooting followed a confrontation between gang rivals as one side was holding a birthday party for a young girl. Salinas lived in a nearby house, and Perez had lived at his grandmother's house on Horschel Road for several years, authorities said.
There were no eyewitnesses who pointed to Perez as the one who shot Salinas. Authorities identified Perez as the suspect in part because of a statement by a woman attending the birthday party, Mayra Corona, who was also the victim named in the first assault count.
Another witness testified that Corona came into the house where the party was being held soon after the confrontation and said, "That scrap, Josh Perez, shot me."
"Scrap" is a derogatory term used by red-wearing gang members -- historically known in California's Hispanic gang world as Nortenos -- to refer to their blue-wearing rivals, known as Surenos.
Perez's gang-related tattoos include the word "Sureno" above his left eyebrow.
As it turned out, Corona was not wounded, and she had to be brought into court under a material witness warrant.
Prosecution witnesses testified that Corona, known to have gang ties, had asked Perez to identify himself as he and several others were walking along the road in front of the house where the party was taking place.
The first round of shots soon followed in front of the house.
Salinas' brother, Sergio, testified that a second round of gunfire came from the doorway of Perez's grandmother's home. One round struck Jose Salinas, who was inside his house.
Perez's DNA was found on a beer can tossed alongside the road, and several .357-caliber casings and live rounds were found in the front yard of the Perez home.
While acknowledging that Corona did not come across as a star witness, deputy prosecutor David Soukup asked the jury to consider the state's entire case in order to reach a guilty verdict.
"It's a sequence of events that you can see makes sense, especially in the context of the gang," he said in his closing argument.
Defense attorney Amanda Stevens blasted the prosecution's entire case as "hearsay statements, allegations and speculations." She suggested to the jury that detectives had settled for the "quick and convenient" suspect rather than ruling out other possibilities.
She called Perez's sister, Tasha Perez, to testify that she was at the house with her grandmother and other relatives, but not her brother, when the shooting broke out.
Among other points, she questioned whether Sergio Salinas could have seen the muzzle flashes he described as coming from the doorway of the Perez home.
"Or is he wanting justice for his brother, just as any brother would?" she said.
Perez did not testify.
* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/12/21/jury-out-on-shooting-that-hurt-innocent-teen
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wapato drive by
A drive by shooting occurred on the 4500 block on N Track Rd in Wapato on the 14th of December at about 6:30 pm. At least one man was hit.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Another Wapato stabbing
The Wapato police reported another stabbing at 8:15 in the morning on December 14.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wapato stabbing
The Wapato Police Department reported a stabbing 600 block of Horschel at about 2:30 am.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wapato Homicide 20th this year in Yakima County
WAPATO, Wash. -- The Wapato man found shot to death at a dark intersection near his home Thursday morning once told a state trooper he sold hundreds of dollars of a meth every week, according to court documents filed in one of his criminal cases.
Lenard Cohenour's death pushed the number of homicides reported this year in Yakima County to 20, two more than last year's total.
Detectives said they were investigating the "quite likely" possibility that Cohenour's death was tied to drug-dealing activities.
He had served more than a year in jail and prison after pleading guilty to dealing or possession charges in 2007 and 2008, according to Yakima County Superior Court records.
Cohenour's relatives told investigators that they believed the 55-year-old man, known as "the Captain," had been continuing his drug trade, said Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the Yakima County Sheriff's Office.
Graham said a passerby discovered Cohenour's body about 1:30 a.m. in a car stopped in the road near the intersection of Phillip John and Winaway roads, four miles southeast of Wapato.
He appeared to have suffered a single gunshot to the chest, Graham said. An autopsy is planned today. No arrests have been reported.
One of Cohenour's relatives declined to comment Thursday, saying she was still shocked over his death.
Cohenour's last major arrest was in July 2008.
A Washington State Patrol trooper stopped him for expired tabs near Winaway and North Track roads, not far from his home in the 900 block of Winaway.
After arresting him for driving on a suspended license, the trooper found several containers of methamphetamine in the vehicle, according to the arrest report.
The report states that Cohenour told the trooper he would buy an "eight ball" of meth -- so called because it weighs about an eighth of an ounce -- every two days for $400 to $500 and then sell most of it.
He was sentenced to 66 days for attempted possession of meth with intent to deliver.
Like several other homicides being investi-gated by the Sheriff's Office this year, Cohenour's shooting happened in the dark of night and well outside a populated area.
"Those always present unique challenges," Graham said.
Seven of this year's cases across the county have involved gangs.
All told, seven county homicide investigations have been handled by the Sheriff's Office this year. No arrests have been reported in four of those cases.
Lenard Cohenour's death pushed the number of homicides reported this year in Yakima County to 20, two more than last year's total.
Detectives said they were investigating the "quite likely" possibility that Cohenour's death was tied to drug-dealing activities.
He had served more than a year in jail and prison after pleading guilty to dealing or possession charges in 2007 and 2008, according to Yakima County Superior Court records.
Cohenour's relatives told investigators that they believed the 55-year-old man, known as "the Captain," had been continuing his drug trade, said Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the Yakima County Sheriff's Office.
Graham said a passerby discovered Cohenour's body about 1:30 a.m. in a car stopped in the road near the intersection of Phillip John and Winaway roads, four miles southeast of Wapato.
He appeared to have suffered a single gunshot to the chest, Graham said. An autopsy is planned today. No arrests have been reported.
One of Cohenour's relatives declined to comment Thursday, saying she was still shocked over his death.
Cohenour's last major arrest was in July 2008.
A Washington State Patrol trooper stopped him for expired tabs near Winaway and North Track roads, not far from his home in the 900 block of Winaway.
After arresting him for driving on a suspended license, the trooper found several containers of methamphetamine in the vehicle, according to the arrest report.
The report states that Cohenour told the trooper he would buy an "eight ball" of meth -- so called because it weighs about an eighth of an ounce -- every two days for $400 to $500 and then sell most of it.
He was sentenced to 66 days for attempted possession of meth with intent to deliver.
Like several other homicides being investi-gated by the Sheriff's Office this year, Cohenour's shooting happened in the dark of night and well outside a populated area.
"Those always present unique challenges," Graham said.
Seven of this year's cases across the county have involved gangs.
All told, seven county homicide investigations have been handled by the Sheriff's Office this year. No arrests have been reported in four of those cases.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wapato- 16yo suspect in Norteno homicide surrenders
The main suspect in the shooting death of a 16-year-old Wapato boy last year is in custody.
Delfino Juan Benson, 19, surrendered Friday at the Puyallup Police Department, according to a news release from the Yakima County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's detectives on Oct. 23 announced that they had arrested three other suspects in the Nov. 12, 2008, death of Ricky Cabrera. Last week, a warrant was issued for Benson's arrest.
Cabrera was fatally shot while walking to a nearby store from his home on North Track Road.
Detectives say the suspects were cruising the Wapato area for rival gang members, hoping to stage a retaliatory attack because of a fatal shooting in Sunnyside.
The suspects recognized a friend with Cabrera as a gang member, and Benson opened fire on the pair, detectives say. Cabrera's family acknowledges that his brothers are gang members, but relatives say they tried to keep him out of gangs.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/11/02/suspect-in-shooting-death-turns-self-in
Delfino Juan Benson, 19, surrendered Friday at the Puyallup Police Department, according to a news release from the Yakima County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's detectives on Oct. 23 announced that they had arrested three other suspects in the Nov. 12, 2008, death of Ricky Cabrera. Last week, a warrant was issued for Benson's arrest.
Cabrera was fatally shot while walking to a nearby store from his home on North Track Road.
Detectives say the suspects were cruising the Wapato area for rival gang members, hoping to stage a retaliatory attack because of a fatal shooting in Sunnyside.
The suspects recognized a friend with Cabrera as a gang member, and Benson opened fire on the pair, detectives say. Cabrera's family acknowledges that his brothers are gang members, but relatives say they tried to keep him out of gangs.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/11/02/suspect-in-shooting-death-turns-self-in
Monday, October 26, 2009
WAPATO- Warrant issued for 2008 homicide
YAKIMA, Wash. — An arrest warrant has been issued for a 19-year-old man who is suspected of being the shooter in the gang-related death of a Wapato youngster (a Norteno) last year.
The warrant charging Delfino Benson (Sureno) with first-degree murder was filed in Yakima County Superior Court this afternoon.
Benson lives in the Wapato area.
Sheriff’s detectives on Friday arrested a Union Gap mother, her son and another teenager in connection with the same case.
Investigators say witnesses tell them the 45-year-old mother was driving as the group cruised around the Wapato area Nov. 18. They were looking for gang rivals to attack in retaliation for a fatal gang shooting in Sunnyside, according to the arrest report.
The group stopped in the 4500 block of North Track Road when they spotted victim Ricky Cabrera and a friend, who were walking to a nearby market from Cabrera’s house.
Investigators say Benson opened fire, hitting Cabrera. He was declared dead at Toppenish Community Hospital.
The arrest report suggests that the attackers recognized Cabrera’s friend as a rival gang member.
Cabrera’s relatives acknowledge that his brothers are involved in gangs, but they say they had tried to keep Cabrera from the lifestyle.
Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, said a new witness came forward Friday to provide information that resulted in the arrests.
He said at least some of those arrested had been interviewed in the earlier stages of the investigation.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/10/26/arrest-warrant-issued-in-2008-gang-related-death
Friday, October 23, 2009
WAPATO Three suspects arrested in 2008 shooting death
WAPATO, Wash. -- Police said Friday they have arrested three people in connection with the shooting death last November of 16-year-old Ricky Cabrera of Wapato.
Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the Yakima County Sheriff's Office, said in a news release that a witness to the shooting came forward Friday and provided information leading to the arrest of a 45-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man, both of Union Gap, and a 13-year old male from Wapato.
Police are looking to question another 19-year-old man from the Wapato area.
Graham said the investigation is continuing.
Cabrera was walking to the Crossroad Market about 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2008, with a friend. The pair had walked about two houses down when a green, four-door car slowed beside them, according to the friend, Andrés Silva-Corona.
Someone yelled from the car and a gun emerged from the window. Shots were fired, hitting Cabrera in the shoulder and rupturing an artery. He bled to death at Toppenish Community Hospital.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/10/23/10-24-09-cabrera
Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the Yakima County Sheriff's Office, said in a news release that a witness to the shooting came forward Friday and provided information leading to the arrest of a 45-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man, both of Union Gap, and a 13-year old male from Wapato.
Police are looking to question another 19-year-old man from the Wapato area.
Graham said the investigation is continuing.
Cabrera was walking to the Crossroad Market about 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2008, with a friend. The pair had walked about two houses down when a green, four-door car slowed beside them, according to the friend, Andrés Silva-Corona.
Someone yelled from the car and a gun emerged from the window. Shots were fired, hitting Cabrera in the shoulder and rupturing an artery. He bled to death at Toppenish Community Hospital.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/10/23/10-24-09-cabrera
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wapato: Gang violence ensnares innocent Wapato teen
(Copyright (c) 2009 Yakima Herald-Republic)
WAPATO -- Trouble was the last thing Manuel Gomez was looking for as he celebrated his daughter's 11th birthday this weekend.
He'd left the gang life more than three years ago, earned a GED and is three years into college, but his old gang ties continue to haunt him.
And because of that, an innocent 16-year-old neighbor remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the face.
"I'm really sorry for the family," Gomez said. "I really feel bad for the family."
Gunfire isn't unusual in a neighborhood just outside Wapato where graffiti-tattered bungalows dot the area. But neighbors say it's the first time a bystander was caught in the cross hairs of gang violence.
Gomez said nearly a dozen children and their parents -- some of them with gang ties -- had gathered Saturday at his singlewide trailer on Horschel Road for the party when a handful of gang members living down the street showed up.
What followed has become an all too familiar scenario in the Yakima Valley: Words were exchanged. Shots were fired.
The mother of Gomez's children, Veronica Ortega, ordered all the children to the back of the house.
"I told them to go to their room and stay down," she said.
A handful of men at the party immediately ran outside, Gomez said.
"They told them to drop the guns and fight like a man," he said. "They wouldn't."
The melee then moved down the street, where more shots were fired.
Sergio Salinas, 18, who lives four doors down, said he heard arguing and gunshots when he looked out his bedroom window. He told his curious 11-year-old sister to go into the other room, away from the disturbance.
"They were arguing and all of a sudden they started shooting," he said, standing outside of his home Monday.
As he dialed 9-1-1, his 16-year-old brother, Jose Salinas, peered out the window, and a stray bullet smashed into his face.
His mother pressed a towel over the wound, which was gushing with blood, Salinas said.
In critical condition, the teen was rushed to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where he's since been upgraded to serious condition.
He's breathing with the help of a ventilator.
Sergio Salinas said doctors told him the bullet broke his brother's jaw, traveled down his spine and may have lodged near his kidney.
Sergio Salinas said neither he nor his brother have any ties to gangs.
Police described Jose Salinas as "an innocent victim of the senseless violence."
Five people were released after being questioned at the scene, Stew Graham, the Yakima County Sheriff's Office's chief of detectives, said Monday.
There aren't any leads on an arrest, but investigators will continue to question people in the area, he said.
Sergio Salinas said his family is tired of the problems that continue to spew from an apparent gang house on Hoffer Road and adjacent to theirs in the 100 block of Horschel Road.
"They always get into arguments," he said. "Last time they got into an argument with a girl and almost ran her over."
Gomez said his family knows the victim's family and feels bad about the shooting.
"I never knew that kid to start trouble or anything," Gomez said. "It should have never happened to him."
But it's not the first run-in he's had with those gang members.
"They've already been shooting at my house," he said sitting in his living room Monday morning, explaining that he knows one of them. "These guys know I used to be in gangs."
His three children, which include another daughter, 6, and a 5-year-old son, were lying on the living room floor under blankets Monday morning watching cartoons. There was no school.
"I now have them sleeping in the living room because I was scared of having them sleep in their bedroom," he said.
He wasn't sure if his house was hit with a bullet Saturday night.
His son crawled from beneath the blankets, walked to the living room window and pulled the drapes back. "Right here, see," he said pointing to a gunshot hole in the window.
"I have to teach them if they hear shooting to just stay down," he said. "I feel bad that I have to teach them that."
Gomez, 27, grew up in the area, dropped out of high school and joined a gang. But he left gang life more than three years ago, and earned his GED and is in his third year of college, where he's seeking a degree in social work.
He recently went to Olympia to talk to lawmakers during a student leadership conference about gangs. As he spoke, his mother flipped through pictures of him in Olympia at the conference with Gov. Chris Gregoire.
"I do regret making bad choices," Gomez said. "I'm trying to leave that behind now. I'm trying to grow up. It haunts me, you know."
His only fear now is that this problem may not go away anytime soon.
"I'm not looking for any retaliation or anything," he said. "I just want it to stop."
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