He drove the getaway car after a Kennewick murder. Now he’s cut a deal

A Pasco man has pleaded guilty to driving a murder suspect from the Kennewick shooting scene and helping hide the getaway car.

Martin Mendoza’s plea in Benton County Superior Court comes seven weeks after he was charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance.

The 22-year-old admitted to a reduced second-degree charge, a gross misdemeanor.

As part of the plea deal, Mendoza must give a video deposition in Stephen E. Morfin’s second-degree murder case if he wants part of his jail sentence to be converted to work crew.

Court documents in both cases show Morfin contacted Mendoza on Sept. 11 and said he needed to see Martin C. Ibanez about a debt.

Mendoza — who was only identified in Morfin’s documents as an acquaintance — knew where to find Ibanez and agreed to help Morfin get there.

Mendoza was in the passenger seat of a Chevrolet Impala when Morfin got out and walked up the driveway at 1507 W. Seventh Place. Soon after, Mendoza heard gunshots.

Morfin, 27, returned to the car and told Mendoza to get behind the wheel and drive away, documents said.

At least five witnesses told police they saw a white-colored car leave the area shortly after hearing the shots at 1:12 p.m.

Ibanez, 39, was found in the driveway and later died at Trios Southridge Hospital.

Mendoza said he and Morfin drove to a spot in Franklin County, where they hid the Chevy. He also claimed he watched Morfin bury a handgun near the car, court documents said.

Investigators later found “a freshly dug hole” during a search of the property. Documents do not say if the gun used in the shooting was found.

Police tracked down Mendoza after finding text messages on Ibanez’s cellphone that talked about owing money. Mendoza was the person on the other end of the text exchange.

Morfin’s second-degree murder charge indicates he did not plan to kill Ibanez when the two talked.

Morfin was arrested Oct. 6 at a Pasco motel. He’s being held on $500,000 bail while awaiting trial Feb. 12.

Mendoza has been in custody since Oct. 19.

He was sentenced to one year in county jail with seven months suspended. That means he has to serve five months, and can be ordered to do more time if he violates any conditions during the rest of the year.

Judge Alex Ekstrom told Mendoza that after he does three months behind bars, he can ask to do the remaining time out of custody on a work crew. It only will be granted if the “video deposition is completed or denied,” court documents said.

Mendoza also was ordered by Ekstrom to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow the recommended treatment.

This story was originally published December 10, 2017 at 3:07 PM with the headline "He drove the getaway car after a Kennewick murder. Now he’s cut a deal."