2 Pasco teens locked up for attempted murder

A Pasco homeowner was trying to defend himself during a robbery when he slipped and fell in front of his attacker.

Luis Nunez-Gomez rolled over to see a pistol still pointed at him and a teen pulling the trigger repeatedly.

He heard the clicks, but nothing happened, according to Pasco police.

Realizing the gun wasn’t working, Nunez-Gomez chased his assailants down an alley, then got in his car and drove through the neighborhood looking for them.

What he didn’t know at the time is that the two teens were in an apartment just a block away, police said.

On Monday, Moses A. Balderas and Eduardo Ramos separately appeared in court on suspicion of attempted murder.

Balderas, 19, is being held on investigation of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree robbery. His bail was set at $500,000 by a Franklin County Superior Court judge.

Ramos, 17, is the alleged triggerman. His bail was set at $250,000 after a Juvenile Court judge ordered him held on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree illegal gun possession.

Ramos, if charged, could be bumped up to adult court given his age and the seriousness of the crimes.

According to court documents, Nunez-Gomez was getting his car ready to leave for work about 5 a.m. Friday when he heard someone in the unattached garage on his Sixth Avenue property.

Nunez-Gomez confronted the intruder — later identified as Ramos — who said he was looking for a lighter.

Ramos started to walk away from the garage, then pointed a gun at the homeowner while ordering him in Spanish to turn over his wallet, money and other belongings, documents said.

The victim charged Ramos, but slipped in his backyard. That’s when the teen allegedly tried to shoot him on the ground, he said.

Nunez-Gomez’s teenage son heard the commotion and saw a man pointing something at his dad, court documents said.

A short time later, patrol officers saw two teens matching the suspects’ descriptions but the two ran into an apartment on West Agate Street.

After police surrounded the complex, Balderas’ older brother and Ramos came outside.

Balderas and another man came out after a standoff with the Tri-City Regional SWAT team.

Ramos told police he had been at the apartment all night smoking marijuana, getting high on Xanax “bars” and playing video games. He claimed another man was the one with the gun robbing people.

A pistol was later found stashed in a backpack underneath a bed, documents said.