Follow on Facebook at Secure, Washington
MOSES LAKE - Police on Friday arrested the second of three murder suspects accused of shooting five people, killing 14-year-old Mario Amezcua last week in Moses Lake.
Matthew Valdez, 18, of Moses Lake, was arrested at 2:30 a.m. in Beaverton, Oregon, by the U.S. Marshals Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, in coordination with Washington County Sheriff’s Office specialty resources, according to a U.S. Marshals Service news release.
The third suspect, 20-year-old Jose Beltran-Rodriguez, of Moses Lake, remained at large.
Cesar A. Cabrera, 14, of Mattawa, Washington, was arrested Monday in Richland. Cabrera was booked into the Chelan County Juvenile Center in Wenatchee.
All three alleged Norteño gang members face murder, assault, drive-by shooting and firearm charges in the March 21 drive-by shooting in a residential neighborhood.
Crystal Santoyo, 26, of Moses Lake; two 17-year-olds; and a 12-year-old were injured in the shooting. They were treated and released from the hospital, according to the Moses Lake Police Department.
Beltran-Rodriguez is listed at about 5-foot-7 and 200 pounds, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Anyone who sees Beltran-Rodriguez is encouraged to call 911. Anyone with information about his whereabouts should contact the nearest U.S. Marshals Service office. The agency is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Beltran-Rodriguez.
“This horrific murder with four additional assault victims has been, and will continue to be, a top priority for all law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice,” U.S. Marshal Craig Thayer said in the release. “With two arrests already made, efforts are now concentrated on the outstanding arrest warrant for Jose Beltran-Rodriguez.”
SEATTLE — The suspect in the kidnapping of a toddler from a Seattle daycare center made her first court appearance Saturday afternoon, all as prosecutors pushed for her to be charged with first-degree kidnapping.
KOMO News is not yet naming that woman because official charges against her are still forthcoming.
At Saturday's court appearance, prosecutors successfully argued that the woman's bail should be set at $500,000. They pointed to the woman's alleged brazenness as the reason why her bail should be set so high.
According to newly released court documents, the suspect is a former family friend of the toddler's mother. Prosecutors said that the two women eventually had a violent falling out, with the toddler's mother attempting to take out a restraining order against the suspect.
According to legal documents, a court hearing regarding that possible restraining order occurred just hours before the kidnapping occurred.
Prosecutors said the kidnapping happened when the suspect entered the MARS Early Learning Academy along Rainer Avenue South, and asked daycare staffers if they could hand over the toddler to her. When employees demanded that the suspect present identification, prosecutors said she then suddenly grabbed the 22-month-old and ran out of the facility.
From there, prosecutors said the suspect was seen fleeing the area in a gray sports car.
When an Amber Alert was issued, Federal Way police noted they came across the suspect's car. They then initiated a traffic stop, where they said the suspect attempted to flee on foot, but was ultimately apprehended. The 22-month-old kidnapping victim was found inside the car, unharmed.
The child was then safely rescued and returned to her family at the Seattle Police Department's South Precinct.
"The worst case scenario is always possible (in these cases), so when the clock starts, it does not stop," said Detective Eric Munoz, Seattle Police. "Priority number one is preservation of life. Rescuing that child is the number one priority."
Det. Munoz noted that seven different law enforcement agencies took part in the effort to find the toddler, including Guardian One and Washington State Patrol.
PORT ANGELES — A Tacoma woman accused of participating in a scheme to scam a 71 year-old Sequim woman out of $40,000 was arraigned in Clallam County Superior Court on Friday.
Alla Mashkova, 36, pleaded not guilty to first-degree theft and second-degree extortion, according to court records. Judge Elizabeth Stanley set a court date for June 23, 2025. Mashkova appeared via Zoom and spoke with the assistance of an interpreter.
Officers with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department arrested Mashkova on March 12 in Sequim in a sting operation after she was observed collecting $40,000 in cash from the Sequim woman, who had previously handed over a total of $125,000 over three separate occasions to a man claiming to be an agent with the Federal Trade Commission.
According to a supplemental arrest report filed by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Mashkova on three occasions this year had collected large sums of money under similar circumstances from victims in Burien, Redmond and Portland, Ore.
The man pretending to be the FTC agent, Pralay Kumar Kar, 39, was arrested March 21 by members of the Snohomish Regional Task Force at his residence in Bothell. He was transported to Clallam County Jail where he remains on $200,000 bond. Kar is scheduled to be arraigned April 2 in Clallam County Superior Court on charges of first-degree theft and second-degree extortion.
Mashkova was released on $50,000 bond and will be allowed to continue to make court appearances via Zoom as long as she does not violate her electronic monitoring terms.
SEDRO WOOLEY - Immigration and Customs Enforcement Seattle (ICE) said it arrested a Mexican citizen near Sedro Wooley who had been previously deported and had a prior arrest for domestic violence/assault in the second degree with strangulation.
Jovinni Martinez-Rodriguez, 27, was arrested on Sunday, according to ICE Seattle. They said they’re deporting him back to Mexico.
According to Skagit County court records, Martinez-Rodriguez was arrested in Burlington after police were dispatched to a physical domestic violence call on March 2, 2024. Police said Martinez-Rodriguez’s girlfriend called 911 and reported that he pulled her out of a vehicle and “strangled (the victim) with both of his hands for five minutes,” following an argument.
He denied the assault
When friends began to call 911, police said Martinez-Rodriguez fled in a vehicle. The victim reported feeling dizzy, but was otherwise physically unharmed.
Martinez-Rodriguez was arrested the following day. He denied the assault and said he was the one assaulted by his friends.
EVERETT - A suspected DUI driver struck a trooper's vehicle while he was tending to a separate collision on Interstate 5 in Everett Saturday morning, authorities said.
According to the Washington State Patrol, the initial single-vehicle collision happened just after 5 a.m. when a car went off the roadway on northbound I-5 just south of the 112th park and ride. The driver reportedly struck a guardrail. There were no injuries.
The Washington State Patrol said the trooper responding to the collision used their vehicle to block the HOV lane for a tow truck to respond. At 7:13 a.m., the suspected DUI driver struck the trooper's vehicle. The trooper was reportedly not in the vehicle at the time.
The suspected DUI driver was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injures. The Washington State Patrol said charges will be referred to the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office.
TACOMA, Wash. — A neighborhood dispute in Tacoma ended in tragedy on Friday when a man was shot and killed by his neighbor.
Pierce County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a call at 4:29 p.m. in the 4400 block of 60th St. Ct. E after a resident reported shooting his neighbor.
Upon arrival, deputies found the 46-year-old victim dead. The PCSO said the 43-year-old shooter was cooperative, and claimed he shot his neighbor because the neighbor had been strangling him.
Detectives and forensic teams are actively investigating the incident, conducting interviews to determine the events leading up to the shooting.
The suspect remains in custody as the investigation continues.
PUYALLUP, Wash. — Two construction workers are in the hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a car while working in Puyallup Friday afternoon.
The 51-year-old man and 31-year-old woman were hit and thrown approximately 10-20 feet around 1 p.m. on Friday while working along the road at 144th and Canyon Rd. East. Both were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries, but authorities said they are expected to recover.
The man who drove the vehicle that hit the pair was cited with negligent driving, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office (PCSO). The man also claimed another car swerved into him, and he overcompensated and hit a signal board where the two workers were hit.
PCSO is investigating the incident.
SEATTLE — The person who allegedly caused a four-car crash on Interstate 5 Saturday morning was arrested on suspicion of impairment.
The collision involving four vehicles happened just before 3 a.m. on northbound Interstate 5 near South 188th Street.
Authorities said the driver believed to have caused the crash was arrested on suspicion of impairment and vehicular assault. The individual will be booked into the King County Jail.
No further details about the condition of those involved in the crash have been released.
PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A chaotic scene unfolded early Saturday morning when a large house party in Pierce County turned deadly, ending with two teenage partygoers shot to death and several more injured.
Deputies were sent to the 17800 block of 25th Ave. Ct. E just after midnight, where 30 to 40 juveniles were reportedly fleeing a house party in panic.
“I heard 4 or 5 gunshots and at the end it sounded like fireworks possibly I didn’t know what it was," said Cindy Bickford who lives in the area.
Multiple callers reported a street fight, and shots were fired just before deputies arrived.
Authorities found one teenage boy in the street and attempted life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Five other victims self-transported to local hospitals, and one of them later died from his injuries.
The remaining four victims, ranging in age from 16 to 21, are hospitalized with serious injuries but are expected to recover.
Residents like Bickford, said it's devastating how young the victims are.
“Now there’s two people that their families will have to be notified that they’re not coming back home," said Bickford.
The mass shooting has sparked safety concerns from residents, Bickford said she wishes more could have been done to shut down the party earlier.
“It’s a tragedy, it should have never happened I wish the parents were here at the house, or if they were that they would have done something or even the police officers that were called to be alerted to this party so they could have gone here sooner and it could have been prevented," said Bickford.
The scene has been secured, and detectives and forensic teams are investigating. Nearby homes and cars were damaged by gunfire, but no additional victims have been found.
Several shell casings and two weapons were recovered at the scene.
By early Saturday afternoon, the PCSO said a 17-year-old suspect had been arrested. They do not believe there are any other suspects.
"This is another grim reminder of how dangerous parties can be when things get out of hand," officials said. "Our deputies and first responders have dealt with a lot in the last 24 hours, and we would hate to respond to more unnecessary deaths. Please be safe."