Federal task force arrests 2 suspects in unresolved September Tri-Cities murder
Two people are in jail for their suspected role in the shooting death of a Kennewick man in September.
On Sept. 21, paramedics were called to help a man who had stopped breathing and the caller was doing CPR at a house on the 3700 block of West Fourth Avenue. When crews arrived, they discovered the man had been shot in the chest.
Fernando Pulido, 36, of Kennewick, was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
On Monday, Kennewick police announced they had arrested Lonny J.C. Barton-Owens, 29, on suspicion of second-degree murder in Pulido’s death.
Barton-Owens was arrested Monday afternoon by the U.S. Marshal Task Force in Pasco, and booked into the Benton County jail. Bail is set at $1 million bail..
Rebecca R. Chavez, 31, also was arrested on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance.
Details of what led to the fatal shooting were not immediately available Monday night.
According to court records, Barton-Owens has a history of misdemeanor property and drug crimes, as well as a 2018 conviction for escaping from a detention facility.
Chavez was awaiting trial for a robbery, kidnapping and assault in 2019 in Franklin County.
With two months left in the year, Benton County already has seen a record number of homicides in 2022. The 15 homicides confirmed so far this year, which do not include vehicular homicides, have far surpassed last year’s 10 homicides.
