Family of Pasco shooting victim got a ‘life sentence.’ Here’s what the killer got

The sister of a 29-year-old man shot dead inside a Pasco home told his killer she has nothing but hatred toward him for his “heartless act.”

Anthony Hamilton made choices “that impacted many people’s lives in a horrific manner,” said Elizabeth Flores.

On Dec. 6, 2018, he chose to take the life of a human being — Javier J. Flores — a son, brother and uncle, she said.

She faced Hamilton one year and four days later and said he deserved a 25-year prison term for killing her best friend.

“You are still alive, but my brother Javier Flores no longer has a future,” Elizabeth Flores said in a written statement.

Superior Court Judge Carrie Runge agreed with the Franklin County prosecutor’s recommendation and ordered Hamilton, 30, to spend a quarter of a century behind bars.

That sentence includes a mandatory five years for using a gun in the killing.

Hamilton admitted shooting Javier Flores “point-blank in the throat” and then firing three times at Briselda Carrazco.

Flores died, while Carrazco was hit in the butt.

Roommate also sentenced

Hamilton’s guilty pleas to second-degree murder and second-degree assault were entered in late October.

He received three years and seven months for the assault, which will be served at the same time as the murder sentence.

His friend and Kennewick roommate, Jerry D. Porter Sr., took his own case to trial in November on murder and attempted murder charges.

Jurors found him guilty of first-degree rendering criminal assistance for driving Hamilton away from the scene before police arrived.

He was acquitted of being an accomplice to the actual shootings.

On Tuesday, Porter also was sentenced to prison for his role.

Runge gave him two years and five months, the maximum possible sentence for his crime.

Argument led to shooting

Court documents show that in the days before the fatal shooting, Porter sent a Facebook message to someone at the West Yakima Street home about a $1,000 debt.

Porter later told investigators he had gone to the home twice that day to visit his cousin, and did not see Flores.

It was on Porter’s second visit that Hamilton joined him.

The men were arguing when Hamilton pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Flores, then fired at Carrazco.

When Hamilton pleaded guilty, he claimed that Flores had pulled a knife on him during the argument and that is why he fired his gun.

Family given life sentence

Elizabeth Flores was joined by her sisters and mother in writing statements to the judge about the effect Hamilton’s actions had on the family as they dealt with Javier Flores’ death this past year.

She said after hearing rumors that day that her brother had been shot dead, Elizabeth Flores felt helpless just waiting to hear her brother’s voice on a phone call or see his big smile as he walked through the front door.

When they finally did get a knock on the door, reality hit that her brother had been murdered and “life didn’t make sense anymore to me.”

“Javy was a good person with such a kind heart. He was the funniest, most caring brother ever,” said Elizabeth Flores. “... He just brightened up the room always cracking jokes to make us laugh.”

Javier Flores had goals, things he wanted to achieve with his whole life in front of him. He had dreamed of becoming a father, she said.

“See, to him, family was everything, something that must have not mattered to you when you decided to murder my brother with no remorse,” she said. “You gave my family and I a life sentence away from my brother. You deserve a life sentence away from yours.”

Prosecutor Shawn Sant on Tuesday gave special thanks to his deputy prosecutor, Maureen Astley, along with the Pasco fire and police departments and police Detective Jed Abastillas for their handling of the investigation and case.