Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2008

Shooting death spurs neighbors to action in Sunnyside

By Franny White, Herald staff writer

SUNNYSIDE -- Days after a 16-year-old boy was shot to death on their street, Sunnyside residents say they're going to take back their neighborhood.

"We're not going to put up with it anymore," said Roberta Mirelez, one of the area residents trying to start a neighborhood watch group. "It's frustrating not to feel safe in your own home."

Juan Ramos died after being shot near a home at 915 S. 15th St. around 7 p.m. Friday, Sunnyside police say. Ramos was struck after police say he fired a semi-automatic handgun at a group of men, prompting the two sides to exchange gunfire.

At least 15 shots were fired from at least two firearms, hitting six different homes and two cars, police said.

Police would not say Tuesday whether the shooting was gang-related, but several South 15th Street residents said people who hang out at the home from which bullets were fired are gang members. Ramos also was scheduled to enroll in a gang intervention program at the Sunnyside School District this fall, said district spokesman Craig Campbell.

Two men in a green 1992 Cadillac that dropped off Ramos before the shooting and then picked him up as he fled on foot are facing charges in Yakima County Superior Court, police said. The alleged driver, Luis A. Juarez Garcia, 25, and his passenger, Jimmy M. Allen, 20, both of Sunnyside, were arrested on suspicion of drive-by shooting and first-degree assault charges.

A police spokeswoman said Tuesday that the gun used to kill Ramos may have been a police-issued 9 mm Glock pistol stolen from a Prosser reserve police officer who lives in Sunnyside. The gun was in its holster when it was taken and some DVDs were stolen from the officer's home in the 600 block of South Eighth Street at 3:10 p.m. Friday.

Prosser Police Chief Pat McCullough could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Three hours after the gun was stolen Friday, a 23-year-old man's finger was shot at Central Park on South Fifth Street between East Edison and Grant avenues. The man, whose name police would not release because he is a victim, was taken to Sunnyside Community Hospital and is said to be OK.

The reserve officer's stolen gun wasn't used in the Central Park shooting, said police spokeswoman Charlotte Hinderlider. But police believe the incident is related because the man with the injured finger is related to Ramos and Garcia.

Two hours after that incident, Ramos and the group of men exchanged fire on South 15th Street, leaving Ramos dead.

Ramos' family is devastated by his death, said Campbell, who met with them Monday.

"They're crushed," he said. "They didn't ask for any of (this). (His mother) is a single mom trying to do the right things and (Ramos) made a wrong decision."

"To lose a young life, someone who has potential, who could have potentially excelled in life, is a tragic situation," he added.

The Ramos family could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Counselors have been available for students at Sunnyside High since Monday, said Principal Brian Hart.

The shooting death has prompted Mirelez and her neighbors to restore peace in their neighborhood. Many of them pointed to the home at 915 S. 15th St. as the main problem.

Yakima County Assessor records indicate Gloria Gomez owns the three-bedroom home built in 1993. Habitat for Humanity helped build the home, neighbors say. Mirelez said she spoke to a Habitat official Tuesday who said the nonprofit agency would meet with the home's owner. Yakima Valley Partners Habitat for Humanity could not be reached late Tuesday.

Several young adults who live in or frequent the home are affiliated with gangs, residents say. A man who answered the door there Tuesday said the owner was not there. A bullet hole marked the front door and a living room window.

The same home has been targeted in six different shootings this year, said Mirelez's husband, Ray Mirelez. Residents have been concerned for several years, but Friday's shooting -- in which neighbors say a boy playing outside felt a bullet rush past him -- was too much, they say.

"We're not going to stand for it," Roberta Mirelez said. "I wish we could have done this before there was a fatality, but that's what it took."

The Sunnyside City Council listened to neighbors' concerns Monday night, she said. And the police department wants to help organize a block party.

With support from officials and neighbors, Mirelez and others hope Friday's tragic shooting will spur South 15th Street into action.

But at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday, Sunnyside police reported another drive-by shooting, which took place about 11/2 miles northwest of Friday's shooting. It is not believed to be related, Hinderlider said.

People at a home in the 600 block of North Fourth Street fired five shots at a moving car near North Fourth Street and Reeves Way. No one was injured. Police found a 22-caliber handgun in the home.

Two people were arrested: Jose E. Acevedo, 21, on suspicion of knowingly making a false statement to an officer, and Maria Acevedo, 44, on suspicion of maintaining or allowing a public nuisance.