17-year-old sent to prison for attempted murder in a Tri-Cities ‘mistaken identity’ shooting

A teen will spend nearly eight years in prison for encouraging a drive-by shooting that left a Tri-Cities man with four gunshot wounds to his face and chest.

Luis A. Hurtado Diaz was sentenced this week in Franklin County Superior Court after pleading guilty to attempted second-degree murder.

Diaz turns 18 on Saturday, but was 16 at the time of the high-speed chase and shooting that police said may have been a case of mistaken identity.

He was originally charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count each of conspiracy and drive-by shooting.

His conviction for a serious, violent crime — which was handled in adult court — carries a maximum term of life. That means Hurtado Diaz, who is from George, must complete the minimum sentence before he will be considered for release by a state review board.

According to court documents, Orfanel Campos-Pineda and his friend, Armando Castillo Magana, had been at the Pasco Walmart in October 2018 to pick up supplies for detailing Campos-Pineda’s Honda.

They saw a group of men arguing with some other people and flashing gang signs outside the store entrance.

The duo did not know the men, but the suspected gang members started following their car as they pulled out of the Walmart lot.

Campos-Pineda was driving his Honda east on Court Street when the other car pulled up next to him in the westbound lane.

The passengers pointed “finger guns” at Campos-Pineda and yelled their gang name, documents said. He knew that meant trouble.

Campos-Pineda later told police that he tried to outrun the other car in a high-speed chase on Road 68 and Court Street, but he ended up crashing after being shot once in the face and three times in the chest.

The driver, who was 20 at the time, was hospitalized and required several lengthy surgeries.

The other sedan did not stop after Campos-Pineda crashed his Honda into the curb near Road 54.

Investigators retrieved surveillance video from Walmart that showed Campos-Pineda and Magana leaving the store just before 11 p.m. The two men did not interact with either group near the exit, court documents said.

Hurtado Diaz was ordered Tuesday to have no contact with Campos-Pineda or Magana for 50 years.

Accused shooter

The alleged shooter, Cesar A. Mendoza, is still awaiting trial set for Oct. 28.

He is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count each of drive-by shooting, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree unlawful possession of a gun and tampering with a witness.

The 22-year-old Royal City man’s tampering charge is based on allegations that he tried to induce Hurtado Diaz to testify falsely or withhold testifying at Mendoza’s trial.

The driver, Esmeralda Cabrera-Castro, and other passenger Ricardo Munoz Estrada have made the same plea agreement as Hurtado Diaz.

Cabrera-Castro of Moses Lake and Munoz Estrada of Quincy both pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder and are doing seven years and eight months in prison.

This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 12:58 PM.