Security photos released in woman’s gang-related killing — the 2nd deadly weekend shooting
New developments: A 17-year-old gang member is charged with gunning down a Tri-Cities woman. His mom is in jail too
Security camera video: Security cameras show gang suspects following victim
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Police arrested a 17-year-old boy and a 36-year-old woman in connection with a Sunday morning shooting in Kennewick.
The teen, who has not been named, is facing first-degree murder charges and the woman, Maria Rachel Mendoza, is accused of rendering criminal assistance. They are both scheduled to appear in Benton County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon.
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A 20-year-old woman who was shot and left to die on a Kennewick street is believed to be the victim of gang violence.
Detectives reached that conclusion about Andrea M. Nunez’s death “based on the totality of the investigation up to this point,” Kennewick police said in a Facebook post.
They spent two days searching homes and talking to people in the east Kennewick neighborhood where Nunez was found just before dawn Sunday.
Police have yet to name any suspects, but said Monday afternoon that they now have two people of interest and a vehicle that were in the area at the time of the shooting.
The men and and the vehicle were captured by security cameras from nearby houses, and detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying them from video screenshots.
The two men can be seen quickly walking and then running from East Seventh Avenue and Gum Street.
Kennewick police Lt. Aaron Clem said investigators are following every lead and still “trying to identify who those people (on the video) are at this point and build some suspects.”
“We have information coming in, but we have to work through all the details that we can really go on,” he told the Herald.
The 4:15 a.m. shooting is not believed to be random.
When 911 dispatchers first got the call about Nunez being shot, they were told that someone was trying to revive her with CPR. She was confirmed dead when paramedics arrived.
Clem did not know why Nunez was in the neighborhood, just a few blocks south of Highway 397, or if she was living there.
She was last known to be living in Kennewick, but she has moved around and previously lived in Pasco, he said.
SWAT searches house
The Tri-Cities Regional SWAT team was called out Sunday afternoon to help clear an apartment at 703 S. Fir St., a block from where Nunez was shot.
Once the home was determined to be safe, detectives went in with a search warrant to look for evidence they thought might be related to the shooting.
Dr. Sig Menchel, a forensic pathologist from Bellevue, is scheduled to do an autopsy on Thursday.
Richland shooting Friday
Menchel already was coming to the Tri-Cities for an autopsy Wednesday for Daniel S. Rice, said the Benton County Coroner’s Office.
Rice, 30, died hours after he was shot Friday evening outside of the Columbia Park Apartments on Jadwin Avenue in Richland.
Neighbors reported hearing a shot, followed by several more, at about 8:35 p.m. in the complex parking lot.
“We are still actively looking” for suspects, Richland police Detective Sgt. Drew Florence said Monday.
A GoFundMe account has been started by family members to help pay for the West Richland man’s funeral expenses.
Until the autopsies are done, police and the coroner cannot say exactly how many times either victim was shot.
People with information into the shooting of Nunez can call dispatch at 509-628-0333.
Anyone with information on Rice’s death are asked to contact Sgt. Florence at 509-942-7654 or dflorence@ci.richland.wa.us.
This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 12:43 PM.