Richland police say he tried to rob a man. The victim had his own gun — and shot back

A career criminal ended up in the hospital with gunshot wounds when the man he allegedly tried to rob was packing his own gun.

Alfredo V. Cabebe, 36, now is locked up in the Benton County jail on $100,000 bail for the confrontation on a Richland street.

Police received several calls just after midnight Nov. 11 for shots fired in the 1200 block of Winslow Avenue.

They arrived to find cash, blood and several shell casings on the ground, but no injured people.

Marnicus Collins contacted investigating officers to say he had shot a man who’d hit him in the face with a gun during a robbery attempt, according to court documents.

Collins reported that Cabebe had pointed a gun at him and ordered him to hand over all his possessions.

He said he was reaching into his coat pocket when Cabebe hit him on the face.

Collins, who had his own gun, then fired several rounds at his attacker, wounding him at least once.

Cabebe shot back one time but did not hit Collins, documents said.

Collins told police where they could find his gun and it was seized.

About 10 minutes after the initial 911 calls, police got word that a man had been dropped off at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland with gunshot wounds.

Officers detained two juveniles who were in the hospital’s parking garage with Cabebe’s wife, court documents said. One boy reportedly had a large amount of cash in his pocket.

The teens admitted agreeing to participate in a robbery with Cabebe, and said they waited in the car while Cabebe approached Collins.

Cabebe stayed on the phone with one of the teens the whole time, and ultimately told them he had been shot and needed help, documents said.

The teens got Cabebe into the car and drove him to the hospital. And Cabebe had them throw out the gun on the way, court documents said.

A loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson was found by police hidden in a bush. A magazine that matched the one in the found gun was later located in a search of Cabebe’s home, documents said.

Cabebe has pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and first-degree illegal gun possession.

The robbery and assault both have gun enhancements which mean, if Cabebe is convicted, he can be ordered to spend additional time behind bars.

His trial is scheduled for Jan. 6.

Cabebe is not allowed to own or possess a gun because of his criminal history, which includes convictions for robbery and burglary.

Documents show he has at least 13 prior felonies in Washington, along with a federal gun convictions.

He was released from prison on the robbery and burglary convictions in April, and was still on community supervision at the time of the new alleged robbery.

This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 5:00 AM.