Suspected gang member arrested for shooting man in Tri-Cities restaurant parking lot

A 23-year-old Pasco gang member is accused of opening fire in a restaurant parking lot in December.

Jamie Mendoza was booked into the Franklin County jail this week after a $100,000 warrant was issued in mid-December. He is charged with attempted first-degree murder and unlawful gun possession.

The shooting victim, Ricco A. Garza, 32, was at the El Mirador restaurant on 1315 N. 20th Ave. on Dec. 13 eating and drinking with three friends. They were drunk when they went outside.

Garza claims to have stopped being an active member of a gang. But Pasco police said a Facebook video showed Garza and one person he was with were flashing gang signs and yelling at passing cars.

After walking back into the parking lot, a blue Infiniti pulled off the road. Surveillance video shows Mendoza get out of the car and walked up to Garza.

Mendoza is affiliated with a rival gang.

The two men had some interaction that ended with Garza being shot at about 9:50 a.m., according to Pasco Detective Jed Abastillas.

Mendoza then got back into the car and drove away, said police.

When police arrived, they found Garza wounded in the parking lot. They provided first aid until Pasco firefighters took over and brought the man to the hospital and he survived.

While video showed Garza flashing gang signs and yelling at cars, his friends didn’t mention it when they talked to police. Instead, they said it pulled into the parking lot and Garza said he liked the car and talked to the driver about the vehicle.

Mendoza has previous felony convictions that prevent him from having a gun.