Grandview Man Charged with Murder After Road Rage Shooting Kills Mabton Resident
Ángel Manuel Méndez, 35, faces second-degree murder charges after Miguel Moreno died from a gunshot wound following a dispute over a vehicle purchase.
Grandview Man Charged with Murder in Fatal Road Rage Shooting
A Grandview-area man has been charged with second-degree murder after a shooting at his home on 12 October left a Mabton man fatally wounded, wric.com reports.
Ángel Manuel Méndez, 35, was charged Monday in Yakima County Superior Court following the death of Miguel Moreno, who died on 23 October. Méndez was expected to be arraigned on the murder charge Friday.
Moreno's brother told 911 dispatchers that his brother had been shot in the head at around 9:30 a.m. in the 2200 block of Forsell Road. Deputies arrived to find Moreno with a gunshot wound to the head. He was airlifted to a regional hospital, where surgeons removed a bullet, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A second caller in the same block reported that a vehicle had crashed through a fence and come to rest in a field after shots were fired, and that the driver appeared to have been shot.
According to the affidavit, Moreno's brother identified Méndez as the shooter and told investigators the incident began as a dispute over a vehicle purchase. He said Méndez challenged them to a fight, and when they arrived at Méndez's home, Méndez opened fire on them without provocation. Moreno reversed his vehicle, drove through the fence and into the field where he was later found.
Méndez called 911 at 10:27 a.m. the same day, saying he wished to turn himself in but asked to say goodbye to his children first. He was taken into custody without incident at a relative's home in Granger.
Méndez had originally faced two counts of first-degree assault — for shooting Moreno and for firing at Moreno's brother. Those charges were upgraded to second-degree murder following Moreno's death.
Court records show Méndez carries prior convictions for domestic violence harassment, felony drunk driving, DUI vehicular assault, drive-by shooting, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
A search of Méndez's home uncovered a .22-caliber rifle in a closet, an upper receiver for an AR-style rifle, .40-caliber ammunition and a Glock pistol magazine loaded with .40-caliber rounds. Deputies also found approximately one ounce of a white powder believed to be cocaine, along with a scale and packaging materials.
Méndez is currently held in the Yakima County jail on $500,000 bail.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)