Yakima Valley- Violent Weekend's aftermath.

A Wapato man is not expected to survive a weekend shooting, Yakima County sheriff's detectives said Monday as they continued to investigate the case.

Meanwhile, Yakima police were trying to identify suspects in another shooting that killed a Kitsap County man on Saturday night, and Toppenish police said they were seeking a known suspect in the third of five shootings reported across the county over the weekend.

The Wapato man -- identified as 28-year-old Manuel Angel Garcia -- remained at Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center in critical condition, said Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the sheriff's office. Numerous relatives have gathered to be with him at the hospital, but his prognosis is not good, authorities said.

Graham said he had no major updates to release as detectives continued to work the case.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/02/violent-weekend-s-aftermath
Garcia was visiting a home in the 4500 block of North Track Road in Wapato when he was hit by one of several rounds fired at the house. Multiple shootings have been reported at and around the home, including a 2008 incident that killed a 16-year-old boy who lived there.

Meanwhile, Yakima police said a dispute that stemmed from an informal rap contest apparently played a role in the shooting that killed 29-year-old James Kilby on Saturday night.

The contests, known as freestyle battles, involve contestants exchanging sometimes-insulting lyrics in a spontaneous test of their rapping skills.

Yakima police Lt. Mike Merryman said a passenger with Kilby had reportedly been beaten by several people affiliated with the contest after a disagreement.

The passenger reportedly told Kilby to leave a home in the area of Fifth Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard, where the beating took place. The shooter followed the car to the Wray's Food and Drug at Third Avenue, blocked it in and then
fired into the car. The passenger, apparently the intended target, had already run into the store, where officers found him.

In Toppenish, police said they were seeking charges of attempted first-degree murder against Ricardo D. Ruiz, 20, of Toppenish. Ruiz remains at large.

The victim told officers he was driving in the 500 block of East Toppenish Avenue when the driver of a blue van got out and began shooting, authorities said. The victim was struck once in the torso as he attempted to drive off.

He drove himself to Toppenish Community Hospital for treatment, police said.

Yakima police also investigated two injury shootings Saturday and Sunday. Two teenagers received noncritical injuries in a driveby shooting, and a man shot a domestic-violence suspect in order to force him to stop attacking his ex-girlfriend.

On Monday, the man was booked into Yakima County Jail on a multiple pending charges, including attempted murder.

Yakima murder suspect arrested in Tacoma

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Police are sometimes stymied in crime investigations when witnesses are unwlling to come forward and speak up, but that wasn’t the case in a homicide investigation Tuesday.

Yakima detectives got their first lead from surveillance video taken by a security camera near where Shelly Kinter’s nude body was found about 5 a.m. in an alley off Chestnut Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets.

Her body had been run over, but Sgt. Scot Levno said investigators believe that happened after she had been killed.

The video showed a black Dodge Avenger, and by midday detectives were inspecting just such a car in the parking lot at Connections, an apartment complex in the 100 block of South Naches Avenue for people recovering from substance abuse. Kinter, 42, lived in a second-floor unit there.

As detectives were preparing to impound the car, some Connections residents gathered in the parking lot hollered out that another black Dodge with a cracked windshield was driving past and had been seen going by earlier.

Police located another black Avenger a few minutes later at the 7-Eleven store on Yakima Avenue and arrested the driver. The car had front-end damage above the passenger-side headlight and the windshield was shattered on the driver’s side.

Levno said that car matched what was seen on the surveillance video. “We found blood on the driver and in the passenger compartment, and on the undercarriage of the car,” he said.

The suspect, 20-year-old Aaron Leroy Briden from Tacoma, was booked into the Yakima County jail on a charge of first-degree murder, according to a police news release.

The news release said Kinter died “from apparent trauma to the head and body.” Yakima County Coroner Jack Hawkins said an autopsy will be done today.

Information on the Web site Classmates.com lists a Shelly Kinter as a 1985 graduate of Davis High School.

A man who lives at Connections, which is operated by Triumph Treatment Services, said Kinter was “just a really mellow person; she never did anybody no harm at all.”

“She was a ray of sunshine,” said a woman smoking a cigarette in the Connections parking lot.

At one point a woman drove up to the group and asked if the woman who had been killed was Shelly, and then broke into sobs.

“She was trying to get her life straightened out, and she was doing a good job,” said the woman, who declined to give her name but said she became friends with Kinter at the free weekly meals a church group provides for homeless and needy people in the neighborhood. The woman is a volunteer who helps at the Friday meals.

Wanted: solutions to gang problems in the Yakima Valley

YAKIMA, Wash. -- More than 250 people filed into the Capitol Theatre on Tuesday night to hear about a problem that has reached into nearly every city in the state: gangs.

In an effort to mobilize communities to take a stand against a growing gang problem statewide, KYVE-TV Channel 47 brought cameras, producers and host Enrique Cerna to talk to law enforcement officials, lawmakers and the public about possible solutions.

The event , "Confronting Gang Violence: A Town Hall Discussion," will be televised at a later date. It drew the entire 15th Legislative District delegation, Yakima County commissioners and city officials from across the Yakima Valley.

Members of community groups mobilizing against gangs in Yakima, Toppenish and Sunnyside also were present.

As the Capitol Theatre became a studio for the broadcast, city leaders, lawmakers and law enforcement officials appeared to have left their titles at the door as they came together with a seemingly genuine interest to seek solutions.

A comment period was even open to engage the public.

"I'm heartened at the turnout," Cerna said, looking at the crowd. "Obviously, this is a concern of the community."

A spike in gang violence across the Yakima Valley this year has residents on edge and police trying to find resources to step up enforcement.

In Yakima County, at least seven of the 19 homicides this year are known to be gang-related. In Toppenish, drive-by shootings occur at least twice a month, and on March 5 one claimed the lives two young men.

Flanked by Yakima County Prosecutor Jim Hagarty and King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, Cerna asked about possible solutions and showed video clips of a former Los Angeles gang member who broke away from a gang, and a Toppenish family who lost their son in March to a gang shooting.

Hagarty admitted that the Yakima Valley per capita probably has the largest gang problem in the state, but it's something that everyone should be concerned about.

"The gangs are spreading and going into every area of the state," he said. "We're not alone."

Agreeing with Hagarty, Satterberg said he's seeing more teens committing violent crimes than ever.

Solutions ranged from devising community programs to steer youth away from gangs and reaching people in their homes to stiffening laws over juvenile crime.

One example of a flawed juvenile justice system is teenagers have to be caught carrying a gun several times before facing any stiff penalties, complained Satterberg.

"Then they shoot and kill someone, and then they're all of a sudden in adult court."

Former Tacoma gang member Marlin Henderson, 29, told the crowd why and how kids are getting guns.

"The problem for the kids is it becomes a source of power," he said of guns. "Kids get the gun at home, parents aren't supervising it very well, they steal it, sell it for $50 and then it's on the streets."

But locking everyone up isn't a single solution, he explained.

A taped interview told his story, how his parents were addicted to crack cocaine and how he was picked on for being a light-skinned black.

One day at age 12, his anger over his parents' drug use led him to beat up another boy. That's when gang life began for him.

He said it was the love of his wife and his grandmother's words telling him to pray that eventually began to pull him from a life of gangs.

He told prosecutors that former gang members who have changed their lives stand the best chance of reaching youth. Both prosecutors agreed that efforts need to be made on a community level, and gang awareness and intervention need to be brought into homes.

Hagarty told Henderson he appreciated hearing his first-hand experience and insight into possible solutions.

Satterberg then leaned to Hagarty and said: "You and I are not the best messengers."



* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509--577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.



Gang forum televised

* "Confronting Gang Violence: A Town-Hall Discussion" airs on Oct. 29 at 7 and 10 p.m. on KYVE-TV Channel 47 and on KCTS 9 in Seattle.



Gang-related homicides in the Valley

Of Yakima County's 19 homicides so far this year, at least seven are considered gang-related homicides. Here is a list of those that police say are gang-related.

* Jan. 4 -- Jesus Tlaseca Sosa, 22, was shot to death by gang rivals at an AM/PM minimart in Sunnyside. Police later arrested suspect Oscar Torres, 25.

* March 5 -- Estevan Silva Jr., 17, and 20-year-old Israel Diaz were fatally shot in Toppenish by a gang rival. Days later, police arrested suspects Anthony Sanchez, 22, of Buena and his sister, Isabel Sanchez, 20, of Wapato.

* May 18 -- Leonardo A. Perez, 20, of Yakima is fatally shot somewhere around the 1000 block of North Fourth Street in Yakima. No one has been charged with his death.

* June 27 -- Oscar Garcia, 16, died 10 days after he was shot in the head in the 400 block of South Fourth Street in Yakima. Police said he was a known gang member. No arrests to date.

* Sept. 29 -- Yorbane Ortiz, 17, of Yakima is shot dead near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Willow Street about 9 p.m. A witness says a car pulled alongside Ortiz before shots were fired.

* Oct. 10 -- Nicholas J. Jimenez, 20, of Yakima was shot to death when someone opened fire on him and a 16-year-old former Yakima boy who were standing outside a house that hosted a party in the 700 block of North Fourth Avenue. Police say they were part of a group that gathered after the funeral of Yorbane Ortiz.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/10/20/wanted-solutions-to-gang-problems-in-the-yakima-valley

YAKIMA: Gang Town Hall Meeting

Where does the growing gang problem in our state stand? How do we make it stop? Those are the questions raised Tuesday night.

The crowd of more than 200 people came to find out more about the growing gang problem we're seeing. The town hall, put on by public television stations KYVE and KCTS, brought in prosecuting attorneys, local law enforcement, and people affected by gangs. "Before it gets too out of control, it'd be nice to step in and try to find some alternatives for kids," Lisa Schmitt gave as her reason for attending.

People like the ones that gathered that night are big part of the solution. Experts on the panel said one of the ways to solve the problem is to take the glamor out of gangs through family and community support of our youth. The town hall show will air throughout the state starting within the next few weeks.

http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/65128777.html

Yakima police investigating gang killing

Yakima police investigating gang killing

Posted: Oct 10, 2009 07:08 PM

Updated: Oct 12, 2009 10:34 AM

YAKIMA--A 20-year-old Yakima man is dead and a 16-year-old boy injured in an early-morning shooting, and police say witnesses aren't talking.

Police believe the shooting is gang-related; they think the two murders are connected because they happened just a block apart.

They also say they're still running extra emphasis patrols but simply put, they can't be everywhere at once.

Officers responded to calls of shots fired on the 700 block of North 40th Avenue around 1:15 a.m. Saturday.

That was all the help they'd get. A group of about ten people were on scene, but police say they refused to cooperate.

About that time officers caught up with a car headed to a local hospital, carrying 20-year-old Nicholas Jimenez. He'd been shot in the back.

He died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Police are now investigating two gang-related murders in just two weeks, but they say these homicides aren't due to a lack of officers on the streets.

"These two homicides that have happened are not a matter of the cops not being around, this is a matter of internal problems going on with gangs and they look for a target of opportunity and they take it."

Police don't have any suspects.

A 16-year-old boy from Utah was also shot several times in the leg.

His injuries aren't life-threatening.

http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=11293652

Gang Violence Plagues Washington Cities

By Mark Knapp

The City of Yakima has been experiencing an upsurge of gang related shootings. The Yakima City Council has called a special meeting for 1 p.m. Friday to discuss how to deal with a recent flare-up in gang violence. Several innocent victims have been wounded by stray rounds.

Some authorities refer to the shootings as a “state of emergency” for the city. Police Chief Sam Granato said gang members are becoming more aggressive in opening fire on one another. Eighteen people have been shot in Yakima since early May. One shooting occurred on August 2nd. Police officers responded to a report of gunshots early Sunday- the fourth reported gang shooting in 72 hours!

Police say they found 23 shell casings in the roadway. Officers also responded to the area near Domino's Pizza at Sixth and Union streets in reference to a 28 year-old male who had what appeared to be “a bullet hole in the back of his neck. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The shooting appears to be gang-related as the the shooters asked the victim is he was a gang member before they began shooting, police said.

Many folks in Yakima are concerned that these problems could result in inadvertently harassment of citizens legally wearing weapons for protection against predatory criminals in and around Yakima, an area known for cartel activities and drugs. Gun activists and other concerned citizens have been contacting the city council and other city officials to ask questions. The answers to many of their questions have not been forthcoming. Sometimes it almost seems like certain politicians regard the taxpayers as more threatening than some of the worst thugs on the streets. Ironically, many of the taxpayers feel that way toward elected officials.

Most law enforcement officers that we have talked to in Yakima, Federal Way and even places like Seattle and Tacoma are very comfortable with armed citizens that follow the rules. The trouble is that many LEOs are reluctant to publically tell the politicians what most LEOs know, that honest citizens that wear guns are a deterrent to criminals and make law enforcement easier! We will continue observing Yakima and reporting new developments. Our goal is to inform the politicians that have not already gotten the message- the voters are fed up with violence in the streets and want our leaders to take a stand.

Yakima does not need city council members attending more meetings to identify the problem. The predominant message from the residents of Yakima seems to be, "Let law enforcement do its job and start taking action to get the gang members off the streets."

Toppenish- Gang shooting leaves two dead

Gang shooting leaves two dead in Toppenish

Philip Ferolito
Yakima Herald-Republic

TOPPENISH, Wash. -- Yet another shooting has claimed the lives of two young victims as police scramble to put a lid on a growing gang problem in Yakima County.

Thursday night's shooting deaths of 17-year-old Estevan Silva Jr. and 20-year-old Israel Diac push to eight the number of homicides in the Yakima County so far this year. About half the deaths are gang-related.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the Valley were working together Friday to see if the shooting is connected to other recent gang shootings, including one earlier Thursday in Yakima, said Toppenish Police Capt. Curt Ruggles.

Silva and Diac were with two others near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Buena Way about 10:20 p.m. Thursday when they were gunned down by a rival gang member, police said.

A dark car with two people inside pulled up, gang affiliations were announced, and a passenger of the car opened fire, striking the two, police said.

The vehicle then fled west on nearby Track Road at a high rate of speed, police said.

Diac, who was shot in the torso, died at the scene. Silva was rushed to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. He died about 4:15 a.m. Friday, Yakima County Coroner Maury Rice said.

Monday autopsies will be conducted for both victims, he said.

Roughly five hours before the two were shot, a 28-year-old Yakima man was struck in the leg by a bullet when rival gang members shot at his Ford Expedition outside a convenience store at 16th Avenue and Tieton Drive in Yakima.

Now, Valley police are trying find out whether there's a connection.

"We're trying to help each other out," Ruggles said Friday.

Police are reviewing surveillance tapes from cameras at nearby buildings in hopes of identifying the suspects in the Toppenish shooting, Ruggles said.

The deaths come 11 days after a gang shooting left an innocent 16-year-old hospitalized in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle

Jose Salinas was shot in the face on Feb. 22 after peering out a bedroom window after hearing shots fired outside his home at the corner of Horschel and Hoffer roads west of Wapato.

The bullet broke his jaw and traveled down his spine and lodged near his kidneys, family said. He's now breathing with help from a ventilator.

Of the 18 homicides reported in Yakima County last year, police say half the deaths were teenagers.

Gangs are becoming more organized in the Valley, authorities have said, and police have formed a multiagency task force to tackle the problem.

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."