Yakima- man confuses soccer players with gang members, opens fire

YAKIMA, Wash. — A man opened fire on a group of youngsters playing soccer Thursday night after asking if they were gang members, city police say.

The 13 children took off running, and a police report did not indicate any of them were hurt.

The 41-year-old suspect — who witnesses described as holding a beer and wearing a white beanie, with three dogs trailing behind him — was arrested nearby, according to the report.

He was booked into the Yakima County jail on suspicion of 13 counts of first-degree assault and was expected to make his first court appearance this afternoon.

Several officers responded about 9:30 p.m. to an area around the 400 block of East Spruce after several callers reported the shooting.

The victims told police they were playing soccer at the Union Gospel Youth Center when the man approached and asked whether they were gang members.

The youngsters said they were not, but the man pulled a gun, pointed it at them and fired six shots, the police report stated.

Officers found the man walking southbound on South Third Street at East Maple. The three dogs were still with him.

Five .38-caliber bullets were found on the suspect, but the gun was not recovered, police said.

— Mark Morey

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/05/yakima-police-arrest-man-for-firing-shots-at-kids-playing-soccer

Yakima- murder charges filed against two suspects

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The two men accused in Saturday night's fatal shooting outside a Yakima supermarket were formally charged with murder Thursday in Yakima County Superior Court.

Jordan Dior Daisy, 21, of Seattle, and Ezra William Swann, 23, of Tukwila, Wash., were charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree assault.

They are accused in the death of James Kilby, 27, of Union Gap, who was shot in the chest while sitting in a parked car outside Wray's supermarket at Third Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard.

Authorities said a friend who had called Kilby to give him a ride was apparently the intended target of the attack.

Yakima police arrested Daisy and Swann on Tuesday in Seattle after tracing a phone number to the home of Daisy's mother.

Both men are being held in the Yakima County jail on $2 million bail.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/04/murder-charges-filed-against-two-suspects

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

Sunnyside- 4 weekend shootings, 1 man shot

In addition to the five people shot around the valley this past weekend, four shootings occurred in the Sunnyside area.
On Thursday at approximately 7:30pm, a caller reported someone standing in the middle of the street on the 600 block of N 4th street, firing four to five shots.
At 9pm Friday, 12 shots were reported at Midvale and Green Valley.
On Saturday, an Outlook man reported being shot in the back to police, and was able to give a description of the vehicle to police.
At 10pm on Sunday, shots were reported on the 1900 block of Maple Grove.

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

Yakima PD gang intervention coordinator promoted

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Police Department's gang intervention coordinator was promoted on Monday to the rank of sergeant.

Office David Cortez replaces Sgt. Scott Levno, who retired after 20 years with the force. Cortez joined the department in 1993, and spent six years on patrol, five years in investigations and three years with the gang unit.

For the past three years, he has been coordinating the department's Gang Resistance Education and Training program, and often gives speeches and holds parenting classes related to youth violence.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/02/ypd-gang-intervention-coordinator-promoted

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.