Baby was inches away when armed suspect was shot by Tri-Cities officer, new documents reveal

A Pasco detective reported seeing a laser move across his face just before he shot one round into the abdomen of an assault suspect.

Seconds earlier, Detective Andrew Corral said he’d noticed something next to the wanted man’s side as the suspect tried to hide on the back floorboard of a stopped SUV, according to court documents.

He couldn’t identify what it was. But when Sgt. Scott Warren yelled “gun,” Corral didn’t hesitate to fire on Santiago Ayala-Pineda, documents show, which are based on footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras.

Corral later told investigators he was fearful not only for his and Warren’s safety, but for the infant strapped into a car seat just inches from Ayala-Pineda.

Corral’s actions are being investigated by the regional Special Investigations Unit, or SIU, to determine if his use of force was justified. The independent investigation is standard protocol after an officer-involved shooting.

Ayala-Pineda, 33, of Kennewick, now is charged in Franklin County Superior Court with seven felony crimes for the July 30 incident on a Road 68 on-ramp at Interstate 182.

Last Friday, Judge Cameron Mitchell issued a nationwide warrant for $500,000 at the request of investigators and prosecutors.

However, Ayala-Pineda has been in the Benton County jail since Aug. 7 on a separate Kennewick case for assault and unlawful possession of a gun.

It’s that case that led to the traffic stop three weeks ago.

U.S. Marshal search

A U.S. Marshals task force — consisting of federal agents, Kennewick police, Benton County sheriff’s deputies and Washington state Department of Corrections officers — were trying in July to locate Ayala-Pineda, who knew he was wanted and was actively evading law enforcement, court documents said.

Ayala-Pineda, whose street moniker is “Gumby,” allegedly had been using family, friends and other associates for rides and to move around frequently.

“He was believed to be purposefully hiding while traveling in vehicles in order to avoid being identified and apprehended,” documents said.

Task force members found a phone number linked to Ayala-Pineda and got a court order to obtain real-time device location data.

It was on July 30 that members received information from the cellphone placing Ayala-Pineda in the area of George Washington Way and McMurray Street in Richland.

Detectives with the Richland police Street Crimes Unit were called in to help and, that afternoon while watching a Hood Avenue home, they saw a man get into the back seat of an SUV. The man appeared to get low in the seat so he could not be seen, documents said.

The Mitsubishi Endeavor, owned by a Pasco man, started driving toward Kennewick on Highway 240, but exited at Columbia Park Trail and got back on the highway in the opposite direction. The SUV then took the I-182 ramp toward Pasco and got off the highway at Road 100.

It stopped at the owner’s home, where he reportedly asked a friend to take over since he wasn’t supposed to be driving in Kennewick because of a suspended driver’s license, court documents said.

Ayala-Pineda allegedly stayed hidden in the back seat while it was parking in the driveway.

The owner, a woman and an infant child got into the SUV and drove toward the Road 68 business district.

I-182 on-ramp

The U.S. Marshals task force members then asked detectives with the Pasco Street Crimes Unit for assistance. Corral saw the Mitsubishi heading south on Road 68, turning to the eastbound highway on-ramp and conducted an investigative stop, documents said.

It’s at that point that detectives believe Ayala-Pineda got down on the SUV’s floorboard between the front and back seats and started grabbing items to conceal his body.

Corral was joined by Sgt. Warren and two fellow Street Crimes Unit detectives before he approached the car to talk with the woman behind the wheel and the front seat passenger, who owns the Mitsubishi.

The detectives initially only saw the child in the back seat, but no adults. The SUV’s rear windows had a dark tint which made it difficult to see in from the outside, court documents said.

After talking with the two adults, police got word that the real-time tracking device placed Ayala-Pineda’s cell in the area of the traffic stop.

The detectives surrounded the SUV a second time and that is when Warren, looking through a window, reportedly noticed shoes on the back seat floor board. Warren and Corral opened the rear, passenger door and immediately identified Ayala-Pineda, who had been face down, documents said.

A probable-cause affidavit, written by Richland Detective S.T. Grant, said he reviewed video from the detectives body cameras the following day and heard Corral address Ayala-Pineda, whose head was about six inches from the baby.

“Detectives give clear, repeated, loud commands for Ayala-Pineda to follow and he refused to comply,” Grant wrote.

Corral told the other officers that something was next to Ayala-Pineda, and seconds later is when Warren yelled “gun” and Corral fired at the suspect, the document said.

Ayala-Pineda was again given commands, and this time he complied, placing his hands near his head so they could be seen by the detectives, Grant wrote.

Red laser beam

A .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver was removed from Ayala-Pineda’s chest area. It was loaded with five rounds, and later was determined to be stolen in April in another Pasco case.

Grant said while he was at the scene that day, he picked up the revolver to empty it and, when he placed his hand around the grip, “a laser activated and emitted a red beam in the direction the barrel was pointed.”

Grant wrote in the court document that Warren can be heard on Corral’s body camera footage saying, “So when he f------ pointed that dude, I about s---!”

The detective noted in the document that it was an indication Warren was in fear for his life.

Ayala-Pineda was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center for treatment of his gunshot wound, then booked into the Benton County jail a week later on his active warrants for that assault case.

Investigators found a fentanyl, or “Mexi” pill, inside the SUV.

They also recovered more than 150 fentanyl pills and methamphetamine from Ayala-Pineda’s clothing at the hospital, along with $350 cash and a list of names and phone numbers, court documents said.

Ayala-Pineda is charged in Franklin County with two counts of first-degree assault for Corral and Warren.

He also is charged with one count each of possessing a stolen gun, first- and second-degree unlawful possession of a gun, possessing methamphetamine and possessing fentanyl with intent to deliver.

The assault and drug charges all include special allegations that he was armed with a gun while committing those crimes.