Tri-City gang member is accused of shooting a man twice in defense of a woman

A Kennewick shooting in January may have been a fight about a woman, according to court documents.

Jesus G. Salas-Rubio and another man allegedly confronted the shooting victim about allegations he molested a woman while she was sleeping.

The shooting happened Jan. 21 in the parking lot of the Baymont Inn & Suites on West 27th Avenue, Kennewick detectives said in court documents.

Kennewick police had been looking for Salas-Rubio and tried to arrest him Jan. 29 during an unrelated raid on a Kennewick house. He fled into Zintel Canyon and police spent hours unsuccessfully looking for him.

Wednesday, he was arrested in Spokane and will be returned to Benton County to faces a charge of first-degree assault.

Investigators used interviews and surveillance video from the inn to identify Salas-Rubio as the shooter.

According to court documents, the victim claimed he went to the inn to settle an argument about some items the woman supposedly left in his truck.

Isaac Salazar, who is not charged, walked out of the inn with Salas-Rubio to talk with the victim in the parking lot.

Salazar punched the victim in the mouth, then backed off while Salas-Rubio shot him, the victim told police.

The victim suffered two gunshot wounds to his left arm.

The victim pulled out a gun, Salazar said. He ran and heard shots, but didn’t know who did the shooting.

Salas-Rubio’s bail was set at $50,000.

The known gang member has a violent criminal history, including convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.

This story was originally published February 7, 2018 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Tri-City gang member is accused of shooting a man twice in defense of a woman."