20-year-old pleads guilty to fatal West Kelso drive-by shooting
A Kelso man pleaded guilty to murder Friday afternoon over the 2024 fatal drive-by shooting in West Kelso.
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Eligha Christian Buckner-Lopez, 20, of Kelso, donning a green jail uniform, pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder charge over the death of Cody Tamayo, 31, of Kelso.
Presiding Cowlitz County Superior Court judge Thad Scudder asked Buckner-Lopez what led him to plead guilty to murder.
He responded by saying he shot someone. When Scudder asked if he was speaking of Tamayo, he responded with a simple yes.
Buckner-Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3.
He was informed that he could face a prison term between 240 months and 320 months, or 20 to around 27 years.
According to court records, Buckner-Lopez was previously held in the Lewis County Jail. However, jail records show he was in the Cowlitz County Jail on Friday.
Tamayo's widow, Samaria Tamayo, told The Daily News after the hearing that she is glad justice is being served, but it still doesn't bring back her husband and the father to his three children.
Buckner-Lopez's co-arrestee, Conner Santos Aguayo, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree aggravated murder with a firearm enhancement last year. His next hearing is on May 19.
The shooting
Tamayo was shot just before 7 p.m. Aug. 13, 2024, near the Boondox Gas and Grocery at 705 West Cowlitz Way in West Kelso. He died the following day.
A police report says witnesses saw a white Chrysler 300 and the victim's black Chevrolet next to each other on the day of the shooting near the Cowlitz Way gas station when they heard gunshots, followed by the Chevrolet backing up.
The report also says gas station surveillance caught part of the shooting. Footage shows both vehicles next to each other at the stoplight at West Cowlitz Way and West Main Street near Boondox, facing southbound toward Mattress Firm.
When the light turns green, the video shows Tamayo accelerating and the suspects speeding up to meet him, but exiting the video's coverage area. Later, Tamayo's Chevrolet is seen reversing against traffic and hitting a traffic post, the report states.
When the Kelso police arrived at about 6:49 p.m., they found Tamayo in his black truck suffering from a gunshot wound.
Police found Aguayo and Buckner-Lopez hiding in a portable toilet in Rainier hours after the shooting.
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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 4:27 AM.