He owed a $3,000 drug debt. Now his accused killer is getting a new trial

A 39-year-old man owed about $3,000 to his drug supplier when he was shot dead in the driveway of a Kennewick home, his friend said Tuesday.

Martin Mendoza said he tried to help his friend Martin Ibanez for a while by fronting him drugs without their supplier knowing.

But on Sept. 11, 2017, that supplier came calling and told Mendoza to show someone else where Ibanez was living, say investigators.

A nervous and soft-spoken Mendoza took the witness stand Tuesday to share what he says happened next when he rode with Stephen E. Morfin to 1507 W. Seventh Place.

His testimony was given in a public deposition that was videotaped in Benton County Superior Court.

He had been scheduled to testify in Morfin’s trial, which started Dec. 3. The trial came to a screeching halt last Thursday when another witness said he had met Morfin when the defendant was released from prison or jail.

Judge Alex Ekstrom previously ruled that any evidence of prior convictions could not be used in trial, so he granted a mistrial.

Morfin, 28, is charged with second-degree murder while armed with a 9mm gun.

The re-trial is scheduled for Jan. 16. But prosecutors aren’t sure if Mendoza will be around for it.

Mendoza pleaded guilty last year to driving Morfin from the shooting scene and helping hide the getaway car. He got a five-month county jail sentence for second-degree rendering criminal assistance, a gross misdemeanor.

The 23-year-old Pasco father has reported multiple threats to himself and his family over the past 15 months, and told investigators he’s “running scared” and has tried to avoid being served a subpoena.

Ekstrom ordered the deposition over the objection of Morfin’s attorneys.

Deputy Prosecutor Julie Long said it was important to get the deposition done Tuesday before Mendoza is set free in the next day from the Franklin County jail, where he’s been locked up for almost three weeks for failing to comply on an unrelated case.

Long said Mendoza has been told there is a $5,000 bounty on his head, he will be killed if he testifies and his family will pay if the suspected Tri-City drug supplier gets arrested as a result of this case.

Kennewick police Detective Joe Santoy also wrote in a court document that during Morfin’s trial, he saw several documented Florencia 13 gang members try to intimidate another witness by sitting directly across from the man in the lobby or following him out to the parking lot. The gang members were in court to support Morfin, said Santoy.

Mendoza’s deposition on Tuesday lasted over an hour, with questions asked by both Long and defense lawyer Shelley Ajax.

Morfin occasionally smirked or shook his head at Mendoza’s statements.

Mendoza said he had sold heroin and methamphetamine for about two years, and had his own $3,500 debt to the supplier at one time. He said he “got beat up” for not paying it back.

Mendoza said he introduced Ibanez to his supplier, and considered himself a middleman. He added that he met Morfin through the supplier.

After getting the call from his supplier on Sept. 11, Mendoza said Morfin showed up at the Pasco auto shop where he was working.

Morfin told Mendoza he was going to collect on a debt owed to the drug supplier and that Ibanez “better pay up.” He described Morfin as the supplier’s legman.

Mendoza said he intentionally pointed out the wrong house to Morfin. An older lady answered the door, so Morfin went next door and eventually found Ibanez in a back shop.

Mendoza said he could see Morfin arguing with someone in the driveway, then claims he saw Morfin jump back three times like he was firing a gun and saw smoke in the air.

Mendoza was turning around the Impala when Morfin got into the car.

Morfin was mad at him for giving him the wrong house, concerned that the lady now could identify him, he said. He also allegedly was cleaning a gun when he got in.

Long asked what Morfin told Mendoza. “He said (Ibanez) should have paid (Morfin). He should have paid me or he should have gave me some keys or something,” he said.

Mendoza said he just started driving the car back to a Pasco house to hide from the police.

“Did (Morfin) say anything to you about what had happened when he got there?” asked Long.

“Yeah, he said, ‘I got him. I shot him one time in the chest and he fell down,’ “ Mendoza said.

He claimed the drug supplier was already at the house to meet them, and started digging a whole in the yard, he assumes to bury the gun.

Mendoza also said that he helped cover the Impala with a tarp. He told a relative and his girlfriend what happened, but didn’t call police because he was afraid.

Ibanez died later that day at Trios Southridge Hospital.

Morfin was arrested nearly a month later at a Pasco motel. He’s being held on $500,000 bail.

Morfin’s attorneys have asked for the murder case to be dismissed based on double jeopardy. Their motion filed Tuesday says prosecutors and witnesses acted in bad faith by prejudicing the trial.

This story was originally published December 11, 2018 at 8:02 PM.