A 26-year-old man will spend a year in prison for lying to police about an August gang shooting and trying to put the blame on his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend.
Juan Pablo Infante-Martinez was sentenced for his earlier guilty plea to first-degree rendering criminal assistance, a felony.
The Pasco man was with a group of men when one allegedly fired at rival gang members outside the Motel 6 in Pasco.
Paula Villarreal, 36, of Pasco was hit in the face when several shots were fired at the car she was in. The shooting happened just before 10 p.m. Aug. 29, after Villarreal had checked into the North Oregon Avenue motel with her daughter, son and her son's girlfriend.
According to court documents, Debbie Villarreal moved the car from the front of the motel after checking in to a parking spot just outside the east entrance.
Meanwhile, Ramon Morfin Jr. and Infante-Martinez were with gang members in the picnic area in the northeast corner of the parking lot when they saw that the car belonged to a rival and yelled at the occupants, documents said.
The group then gathered around a Mercedes Benz that belonged to another documented gang member, and Morfin allegedly leaned on the car to steady his shot with a .45-caliber pistol.
Infante-Martinez and the others yelled insults toward their rivals while Morfin fired eight times, hitting Paula Villarreal in the face and jaw, court documents said. Her injuries were not life-threatening.
Villarreal's daughter, Debbie, was near the car when the shooting occurred but was not hit. She quickly got back in and drove away.
Debbie Villarreal and her brother, Jose, are said to be documented gang members, documents said.
While Pasco officers were at the motel investigating the shooting, Infante-Martinez returned but told police he hadn't been there at the time of the shooting. However, surveillance video later confirmed he was standing next to Morfin when Morfin fired the gun, court documents said.
Infante-Martinez also called Pasco detectives the next day and again said he was not at the motel at the time of the shooting, but then tried to say the shooter was the new boyfriend of his baby's mother. Investigators already had identified Morfin as the suspected shooter, documents said.
After his arrest, Infante-Martinez told police he had been at the motel and misled officers, yet he wouldn't identity anyone at the scene.
"Police were investigating assault 1 and I told them another person did it and that was not true," Infante-Martinez wrote in his plea statement.
Infante-Martinez's criminal history includes residential burglary and two third-degree assaults.
Morfin has not yet been caught for his alleged role. An arrest warrant on two counts of first-degree assault with a gun was issued for him in September.
