Tri-Citian accused of shooting ex’s boyfriend. He’s already in prison for another crime
A Pasco man locked up in prison recently has been returned to Franklin County to face attempted murder charges on a 2 1/2-year-old case.
Jaime Balderas, 28, is accused of shooting his ex’s boyfriend following a visit with his own children.
At least one bullet pierced the victim’s lung but he survived his injuries.
Balderas had been on the run for more than two months in early 2019 before he was caught after leading state troopers on a high-speed chase for at least 40 miles.
The chase went from Interstate 90 in the Spokane Valley to Highway 2. Balderas was believed to have been drunk as he drove at speeds of up to 106 mph.
He has been in custody since that arrest, but remained in the Spokane County jail.
He was sent to prison on a 5-year, 3-month sentence after pleading guilty to one felony DUI count.
$500,000 bail
With that case resolved, Franklin County prosecutors asked a Superior Court judge earlier this month to sign an order for the state Department of Corrections to transport Balderas to Pasco.
Balderas has been at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton.
In his first appearance on the Franklin County case, he was ordered held on $500,000.
He is scheduled back in court July 13 to enter a plea to attempted second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful gun possession.
Prosecutors say Balderas shot Victor H. Maldonado-Iniguez three times on Jan. 11, 2019.
Balderas had stopped by a West Yakima Street apartment in Pasco to visit his kids, then later pulled out a gun and shot Maldonado-Iniquez after being asked a question in Spanish, according to court documents.
Balderas is a convicted felon who is not allowed to own or possess a gun.
He was identified as the alleged shooter by Maldonado-Iniquez as the victim was being loaded into the ambulance, documents said.
Maldonado-Iniquez told police he had stepped outside the apartment so his girlfriend, Emily Sanchez, and her ex, Balderas, could talk in private.
The victim said he opened the door to check on them as their voices got louder. That’s when Balderas allegedly shot him three times before running away.
Hour-long chase
Then on the evening of March 27, 2019 — 2 1/2 months after the shooting — a Washington State Patrol trooper noticed a Ford F150 speeding on I-90 near the exit for Highway 902. The pickup was traveling east.
The trooper was in a marked patrol car, but Balderas ignored the trooper’s attempts to stop him and took off, the state patrol reported.
During the pursuit while in Reardan, the pickup hit a Chevrolet Caprice driven by Trooper Joe Leibrecht, then continued to drive for nearly 30 more miles. Leibrecht was not injured.
The truck’s tires had blown out and was riding on its rims when troopers did a tactical maneuver with their cars that forced Balderas to lose control and the truck to roll.
The chase, which lasted about an hour, ended six miles east of Creston.
Balderas had two passengers: Ivan Valdez, 26, and Michael Figueroa, 44, both of Pasco.
Balderas and Figueroa were taken to Lincoln Hospital in Davenport but were not seriously hurt, and they were not arrested.
Balderas could be released from prison as soon as Sept. 26, 2022, on the Spokane case, according to a Department of Corrections spokeswoman.