Richland motel robbery turned deadly after girlfriend found in bed with another man

A 24-year-old man is facing 27 years in prison for killing a man who was in bed with his own girlfriend.

Jonah W. Glass went to the Days Inn Motel in Richland one year ago intending to rob the victim, but ended up shooting Anthony M. Irvine once in the head after finding the two together.

Glass initially was charged in Benton County Superior Court with premeditated first-degree murder.

The premeditation was recently dropped with his guilty plea.

“A defendant pleading guilty to murder in the first degree instead of going to trial or having (a) case amended to a lesser degree is a testament to the excellent and thorough investigation by the Richland Police Department,” the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office said on Facebook after Glass’ plea.

The post also recognized Detective Matt Nelson, who was the lead investigator, as well as deputy prosecutors Brandon Pang and Andrew Howell, and victim advocate Maggie Valencia “for their dedication in getting justice on this case.”

Police were called to the motel room shortly after 10 a.m. on April 17, 2020, after receiving a report that a man had been shot.

Irvine, 24, of Burbank, was dead when officers arrived.

The woman in bed with Irvine, Jasmine Uribe, was not hurt in the shooting. Another man in the room, Fernando Gonzalez, also was not wounded.

Uribe was described in court documents as Glass’ ex-girlfriend at the time of his arrest. However, in his plea statement, Glass said he fired his gun after going inside the motel room and finding “my girlfriend in bed with another man.”

Joselyn Guzman, 29, also is charged with first-degree murder and set for trial later this month.

Guzman claimed in her first interview with detectives that she left the motel room to grab something from her car. She said she left the motel room ajar, and was in the parking lot when she heard a loud “pop” that she believed was a gunshot.

Guzman said she went back to the room and found Glass standing by one of the beds with a “bewildered look on his face,” documents said. Glass then ran out of the room, she claimed.

A spent .22-caliber casing was found by the bed where Irvine was shot, according to police.

Police also noted that while initially searching the room, they saw several calls come in to a phone left on one of the beds. The missed calls were from Guzman.

She was detained hours after the killing, but was released when she denied any involvement during questioning.

In a follow-up interview the next day, detectives confronted Guzman with evidence that she set up Irvine. That included traffic camera footage the morning of the murder that showed her car following a stolen car driven by Glass, from Kennewick into Richland to the Jadwin Avenue motel.

Investigators also reportedly have text messages from Guzman to Glass, identifying the specific motel room and which bed Irvine was sleeping in, court documents said.

Then, 10 minutes after the shooting, Guzman allegedly sent a series of texts to Glass asking for his location and suggesting they meet up.

“This was for the both of us,” she wrote when Glass failed to respond, according to court documents.

“Are you trying to play me,” she also wrote.

Guzman told investigators that Glass was only supposed to point a gun at the victim in an attempt to get money.

The co-conspirators believed Irvine would give up during the robbery, documents said.

Glass was caught four days later following an hour-long standoff at a Pasco home.

Detectives searched the Kennewick apartment where Glass had been staying for a couple months and discovered an unspent .22-caliber bullet on the bathroom floor, and a hat and two dark sweatshirts rolled up and stuffed into the cabinet under the bathroom sink, court documents said.

A person living there said Glass had come home about 11 a.m. April 17 “freaking the f--- out,” and asked for a ride to Pasco.

Sentencing is scheduled April 16. The standard range for murder with Glass’ criminal history is 23 years and five months to 31 years and two months.

Prosecutors said in light of the guilty plea, they will recommend the 27-year term and won’t bring additional charges from the investigation.

Glass is being held in the Benton County jail without bail while awaiting sentencing. Guzman is locked up on $500,000 bail.