Two men arrested in Pasco farmworker murder

Pasco police arrested two men in Richland on Thursday afternoon in connection with intentionally murdering a Pasco farmworker on Friday.

Simeon C. Howard, 34, of Richland, and Nathaniel L. Thompson, 26, of Kennewick, were arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, Pasco police Capt. Ken Roske said in a Facebook post.

Earlier in the afternoon, Richland police and the Tri-City Regional SWAT Team blocked off the 1400 block of Thayer Drive in Richland to arrest the men.

Richland police reported that at least one of them was found there and surrendered peacefully. Roske released no other details.

On Dec. 30, Thomas Contreras De Leon, 27, of Pasco, was shot near the intersection of South Myrtle Avenue and East B Street in Pasco.

He was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco by a person driving a dark, newer-model SUV.

De Leon died the same day from a gunshot wound that damaged his heart and right lung, according to the Franklin County Coroner’s Office.

Pasco police continue to gather evidence in the case and ask anyone with information to call 509-545-3421.

Online court records show Howard and Thompson have numerous arrests and convictions.

Howard was arrested and charged in 2011 for pulling out a gun at a Pasco nightclub. Police ended up shocking him with a Taser and finding ecstasy pills on him.

He also has several other felony convictions, including two for robbery in Benton County in 2003 and 2007.

Thompson was charged in 2014 in a Clearwater Avenue shooting that injured a Kennewick man, who was found wounded in his car.

Online court records show Thompson also has multiple misdemeanor cases in Benton and Franklin counties.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Two men arrested in Pasco farmworker murder."