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KENNEWICK -- A teen in jail on $250,000 bail pleaded innocent Thursday to allegations that he shot a man outside a Kennewick home.
Cruz J. Spencer, 18, faces trial April 26 in Benton County Superior Court for first-degree assault.
Spencer also uses the alias Cruz James Miller.
Kennewick police got word of the shooting at 9 p.m. Feb. 19.
When they arrived at the home in the 500 block of South Zillah Street, officers found Jesus Salas-Rubio lying on the lawn. The 23-year-old Pasco man was hit by one bullet, which entered his side and exited through his buttocks, court documents said.
Meanwhile, the home's front door was open but no one was inside, according to police.
The documents cite Detective Chris Littrell as saying that Spencer went to the house with a handgun and pulled the trigger.
Salas-Rubio "did not have any weapons on him and was not putting Cruz in a life-threatening situation," wrote Littrell, as cited by Prosecutor Andy Miller.
The victim underwent surgery at Kennewick General Hospital.
Salas-Rubio initially was uncooperative and told officers that he didn't know who shot him, court documents said. He then reportedly gave Littrell and Detective Rick Runge a recorded statement of what happened and named Spencer as the shooter, which was supported by witnesses, documents said.
Spencer's father, Jay Arlie Miller, was arrested Feb. 22 on unrelated warrants. He was named as a "person of interest" in the shooting with his son, but has not yet been charged.
Assault suspect pleads guilty to pot possession
RICHLANA -- A career criminal admitted to having large amounts of marijuana for sale inside his garage when investigators zeroed in on him as the suspect in a December home invasion.
Karl Steven Goering Jr., 36, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. He was sentenced to one year in prison.
That time will be served with a two-year, five-month sentence Goering received Feb. 25 for his guilty plea in an unrelated case for failure to register as a sex offender.
But Goering isn't being shipped off to prison just yet. He still faces another case for first-degree assault with sexual motivation.
Prosecutors allege that at 4:45 a.m. Dec. 5, Goering got into a home at The Villas at Meadow Springs in Richland and hit a woman numerous times.
The woman is not named under a Herald policy not to identify people who report being sexually assaulted. She was awake when the suspect surprised her, but apparently didn't know him or how he entered the apartment.
The victim tried to resist Goering, but he continued to beat her with a metal bar, court documents said. He then tried to sexually assault her but did not complete the act, documents said.
The suspect eventually left, but not before threatening the woman that he would kill her if she identified him.
The victim's extensive injuries included a broken right arm and left wrist. She was hospitalized in Richland and Spokane.
Goering was identified as the alleged attacker after the victim reviewed photos of 22 possible suspects, court documents said. She also reportedly picked him out of an in-person lineup.
Goering has claimed he was home in Kennewick at the time of the attack, but his roommates told police that wasn't true, documents said.
During a search of his North Steptoe Street home on Dec. 11, officers found "a large amount of marijuana in a garage."
Sal Mendoza Jr., Goering's lawyer, said a status hearing is scheduled next Thursday before Judge Craig Matheson, who has been assigned to preside over the assault case.
Mendoza has previously said that the defense received an offer of 50 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
Goering's criminal history as both a juvenile and adult includes convictions for first-degree child molestation, burglary, theft and four cases of failing to register.
Richland couple plead innocent in check scam
RICHLAND -- A Richland couple is accused of participating in a check-cashing scheme using closed bank accounts.
Sarah Lynn Canon, 25, and John Harrison Canon IV, 22, pleaded innocent to second-degree theft. Their trials are set May 10.
According to court documents, the husband and wife gave multiple checks to an accomplice between Dec. 12 and Jan. 13 to deposit at Wells Fargo Bank and American West Bank.
The Canons knew the checks were written on closed accounts, documents said.
The accomplice withdrew cash from his accounts immediately after making the deposits, before the checks were returned.
That cash was split with the Canons, court documents said.
Court records don't show any charges yet against the accomplice.
Wells Fargo reportedly lost $1,035 in the scheme, and American West lost $480.
Man gets 30 days in jail in theft from Walmart
RICHLAND -- A 20-year-old man will do 30 days in jail for helping stuff an empty toaster box with more than $1,200 in DVDs, CDs and video games, then only paying the toaster's price.
Thomas Carney pleaded guilty to second-degree theft. He has six days credit toward his jail time.
Carney and Tyler Benjamin Adams, 21, reportedly went into the Richland Walmart on Jan. 7 and walked through the store picking out the movies, music and games, court documents said. Loss prevention officers watched as they placed the merchandise under a comforter in their shopping cart, documents said.
Prosecutors allege that the men then got a new toaster and removed it from the box. They put the toaster back on the store shelf and filled the box with the other items, according to court documents.
The comforter was returned to a display shelf, then the men sealed the box and paid for the toaster at a cash register, along with some snacks, documents said.
Loss prevention officers stopped them in the parking lot for the theft of 33 items totaling $1,218.56.
Adams faces a March 22 trial for the same charge.
-- Kristin M. Kraemer: 509-582-1531; kkraemer@tricityherald.com
