Yakima shooter from Vancouver caught

YAKIMA --- Police were in full force in Yakima Thursday night. They caught a shooter from the Vancouver area.

Multiple tip calls sent police to a house on 8th Avenue and Spokane street. The man inside was Jose Gasteazoro Paniagua, who allegedly shot a convenience store clerk multiple times in Vancouver about a week ago. Yakima Police, Gang Unit, the U.S. Marshals officers, and Yakima County Violence Crimes task force all made sure the guy didn't get away. "I think he was stunned just by our show of force and cops we had on-site and on-scene here. He had no choice but to give up," Yakima police sergeant, Erik Hildebrand smiled.

The Vancouver Clerk is still in stable condition in Clark County. Investigators there don't believe robbery was a motive.

http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/80978542.html

Toppenish gangster's murder ruled 1st homicide of year

TOPPENISH, Wash. -- A week into the new year, Yakima County sheriff's detectives have launched the county's first homicide investigation of 2010.

But the case may stretch back into 2009 because Fernando Figueroa's family says he was last seen Dec. 30.

Family members said he got a phone call and said he'd be back from a meeting in 10 or 20 minutes, said Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the sheriff's office.

The Yakima man apparently suffered at least one gunshot wound. His body, wrapped in plastic, was dumped off a bridge into a canal near the intersection of Campbell and Marion Drain roads, southwest of Toppenish, Graham said.

Relatives reported him missing to Yakima police on Jan. 1. His 21st birthday would have been Jan. 3.

A woman who identified herself of Figueroa's mother-in-law called the Herald-Republic on Wednesday to complain about the investigation, saying she didn't believe authorities had taken the missing persons report seriously.

Other relatives and friends who also asked not to be identified said Figueroa grew up in Yakima and had recently married. He was described as a "very caring, lovable and respectful person, willing to help out in any way he could to anyone."

Graham said relatives decided Thursday to search the Lower Valley for Figueroa's body, in part because a black Dodge Charger he'd been driving was discovered outside of Wapato earlier this week.

They called the Sheriff's Office after seeing shoes sticking out of about a foot of water in the canal, which is one of only a few flowing year-round in that part of the Lower Valley.

A property owner along Jones Road, outside of Wapato, had the Charger towed away Tuesday after it was left on his property, investigators said.

Graham said Yakima police detectives who searched the car found no evidence of a crime.

Yakima police Sgt. Scot Levno declined to identify the car's owner or give many other details, saying it was the county's investigation.

Graham said detectives would begin trying to track Figueroa's movements since he was last seen.

Authorities called Figueroa a known gang member. In July, he was charged with first-degree robbery and had been out on $50,000 bail while awaiting trial, state Superior Court records show.

In 2005, he was found guilty of a drug possession and firearms charge, and was sentenced as a juvenile to more than a year.

Relatives said there was more to Figueroa.

"He wasn't this image they're painting," one family friend said. "We all have flaws. He was definitely a person I could depend on and trust."

Last year, authorities recorded 25 homicides in Yakima County. About a third were considered gang-related. Police have made arrests or identified suspects in 12 of the cases.

Anyone with information concerning the Figueroa homicide should contact the Yakima Sheriff's Office at 509-574-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 509-248-9980.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/07/body-found-in-toppenish-canal-ruled-a-homicide

Toppenish- Body is identified

TOPPENISH, Wash. — The man whose body was found today in a Lower Valley canal has been identified as 21-year-old Fernando Figueroa of Yakima.

Sheriff’s detectives say he may have suffered a gunshot wound. An autopsy will be conducted later this week.

Figueroa’s relatives, who had reported Figueroa missing less than two weeks ago, called the sheriff’s office this afternoon to report they had discovered a possible body in the canal near the intersection of Marion Drain and Campbell roads, Chief of Detectives Stew Graham said.

The body had been wrapped in black plastic before it was apparently dropped off a bridge at that location, Graham said.

Figueroa’s death is the first homicide reported in 2010 in Yakima County.

Anyone with information about the case may call the sheriff's office at 509-574-2500. Anonymous tips, with the possibility of a cash reward, may be reported to Crime Stoppers at 509-248-9980.


— Mark Morey

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/07/authorities-investigating-body-discovered-outside-toppenish

Toppenish- another drive by

Toppenish Police report a drive by shooting occurred on the 600 block of Alder St on January 5.

Yakima- two teens wounded in driveby shooting

YAKIMA — Police are investigating a drive-by shooting that left two teenagers wounded late Tuesday afternoon.

Three male juveniles were walking at 4:37 p.m. on Willow Street just west of North Fifth Avenue when a passenger in a passing car fired several shots at them, according to a Yakima police news release.

A 15-year-old who was hit in the chest and a 17-year-old who was struck in the legs and back were reported in stable condition Tuesday evening, according to the news release. A third juvenile, who was not injured, called 9-1-1 to report the shooting.

The shooting occurred at the same location where 17-year-old Yorbane Ortiz was killed in a drive-by shooting Sept. 29.

Detectives are investigating Tuesday's incident as a gang-related crime.

The suspect vehicle was an older gray Nissan four-door sedan, last seen going north on North Sixth Avenue.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/05/01-06-10-drive-by-shooting

Toppenish- armed robbery

TOPPENISH, Wash. -- A restaurant in the 100 block of East Toppenish Avenue was robbed at gunpoint Monday night, police say.

Two male teenagers entered the business about 9:50 p.m., showed a gun and were given an undisclosed amount of cash, according to a news release from the Toppenish Police Department. They fled on foot.

The teens were wearing jeans, dark-colored clothing, dark beanies and had handkerchiefs covering their faces.

Tips about the case may be reported to the police department at 509-865-4355.

-- Mark Morey

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/05/toppenish-restaurant-robbed-at-gunpoint-monday-night

Yakima- 15y.o. gang member shot

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A 15-year-old boy was hospitalized Sunday evening after he was shot in the arm outside his home in the 1300 block of Fairbanks Avenue, authorities say.

The boy, whom police believe is a gang member, told officers he was standing at the corner of Fairbanks and Custer avenues when somebody in a white car driving past fired shots at him, said Yakima police Lt. Nolan Wentz.

Witnesses said the boy was making loud noises outside minutes before some four or five shots were fired around 6 p.m.

“He was standing out there, whistling, then all of the sudden a white car comes out and starts shooting,” said Jodi Kennicker, a Selah resident who was visiting her grandmother a few houses down Sunday evening. “We heard about four or five shots and he was on the ground, crawling into his house.”

Police recovered one shell casing in the snow in front of the boy’s single story home, Wentz said. The boy was taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital with the nonlife-threatening wound.

Anybody with information is asked to call Yakima police at 509-575-6200.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/03/shooting-near-davis-high-leaves-teen-injured