Witness claims Tri-Cities man accused of murder was trying to stop a vicious attack
A witness claims the suspected shooter in a September Tri-Cities killing was trying to defend a friend who was getting beat up.
The documents obtained by the Herald this week do not explicitly say that Fernando Pulido was a suspected drug dealer, but a large amount of suspected methamphetamine was found in his pockets after he was shot and more may have been stolen from his car by his attacker.
Documents also reveal his home already was under surveillance by the FBI.
The new court documents paint a dramatic picture of the events that led to the Sept. 21 death of Pulido in a home on the 3800 block of Fourth Avenue in Kennewick.
After interviewing witnesses, investigators were able to obtain arrest warrants for Lonny Barton-Owens for second-degree murder and for Rebecca Chavez for rendering criminal assistance.
Barton-Owens and Chavez were arrested Monday afternoon, and made initial court appearances Tuesday and Wednesday in Benton County Superior Court.
Barton-Owens pleaded innocent to the murder charge on Wednesday, and is expected to go to trial in January. His bail is set at $1 million.
Judge David Petersen set Chavez’s bail at $500,000 because of her criminal history. Chavez was already awaiting trial for a 2019 robbery, kidnapping and assault and charge. That case has a trial date set for late December.
Witness account
The witness account comes from a man who was at the home at the time and agreed to cooperate in exchange for a reduction on a possible sentence for a separate gun charge, according to investigators.
Several people interviewed by investigators expressed fear of retribution if they spoke to the police.
When the initial call came in on Sept. 21, emergency dispatchers were told a man was on the ground, not breathing normally.
When paramedics arrived they found Pulido, 36, had been shot in the stomach. Medics notified police, and an officer was sent to Trios Southridge Hospital to investigate. He died later at the hospital.
When searching his clothes the officer found 30 grams of what appeared to be methamphetamine in his pocket, according to the court documents.
At the scene of the shooting, investigators found signs of a struggle and a bullet hole through a bedroom door. Due to gun powder found on the door, they believe the gun was fired at close range.
Documents show Pulido’s street name was “Prophecy.”
Police were able to sue video surveillance footage to identify several people at the home where he was shot and at Pulido’s home a few blocks away on the 300 block of South Reed Street.
According to the court documents, Pulido’s home was already being watched by the FBI, though it’s unclear why.
The person who called 911 happened to stop by the house just after the shooting and saw Pulido on the floor.
Video footage showed that after a single shot was fired, two men ran out of the house and were followed soon after by another man and a woman. The woman was later identified as the homeowner, Kameron Mullaly.
One of the men was later identified when Pulido’s girlfriend called police to report that she saw a photo posted on Facebook and believed the man, who was an acquaintance, was wearing jewelry Pulido was wearing when he was shot, according to court documents.
Investigators say a second man in the background of the photo had significant bruising on his face. He was later identified as the man Pulido was allegedly attacking when he was shot.
One man told investigators that he and several others were in the living room of the Fourth Avenue home playing darts, while Barton-Owens and a man who Pulido had previously assaulted were in a “smoke room.”
Pulido arrived and banged on the door. The people inside didn’t intend to let him in, but someone who didn’t know the situation opened the door for him, said investigators. One man said he attempted to stop Pulido at the door, but says Pulido pushed past him.
Pulido then began searching the house for the man, while Mullaly showed that “Prophecy” was there, in hopes of alerting Barton-Owens and the man he was looking for.
The door to the room they were in was locked, but Pulido eventually found a metal object to pick the lock and began attacking the man inside, according to the documents.
The witness said the man that Pulido was attacking had a “Prophecy Bat,” which was a baseball bat with nails in it, that he had made to protect himself in case Pulido attacked him again, according to the documents.
He added that the last time Pulido attacked the man he severely injured him.
As Pulido and the man struggled over the bat, Barton-Owens left the room and went into a room where his baby was.
The witness described Pulido as “an MMA trained fighter” and said he was badly beating the man.
He said Pulido got the bat away from the other man and was beating him when Barton-Owens came returned with a gun and fired through the bedroom door, hitting Pulido. He wasn’t sure if Barton-Owens had aimed the gun or had fired blindly.
Shooting aftermath
What one witness told police was similar to an anonymous tip sent to Kennewick police in early October, saying Barton-Owens had tried to step in to stop an assault. The tipster added that Barton-Owens took Pulido’s car, including money and drugs inside.
At the scene of the shooting, police were unable to locate Pulido’s blue BMW and thought it was stolen before an acquaintance showed up at Pulido’s mother’s house to let her know he had the car.
Shortly after the shooting, Mullaly was seen picking up Barton-Owens walking down Olson Street with a baby and taking him back to her house. He was later seen leaving in Pulido’s car.
Barton-Owens then picked up another man and went to Pulido’s home to speak to Pulido’s roommate to try to get help.
Pulido’s roommate left in the BMW, and while he was gone investigators say Barton-Owens called his girlfriend Rebecca Chavez, 36, to pick him up. Investigators said that Chavez is the mother of Barton-Owens’ child.
Another witness said Chavez arrived in her car, and Mullaly was with her holding a baby and another baby was in a carseat.
A few weeks later, the same day the anonymous tip came in, an officer spotted Chavez driving near Fourth and Union, and attempted to pull her over believing Barton-Owens was also in her vehicle. The officer said she fled at a high speed.
After getting a statement from the witness the following week, investigator obtained the warrants for Barton-Owens and Chavez.
They were arrested three weeks later on Oct. 31 in Pasco by the U.S. Marshals Task Force.
Pulido is one of 15 homicides in Benton County so far this year.
