Richland shooting and robbery suspect says he’s ‘not a violent man’

A Sunnyside gang member accused of shooting a man during a drug or gun deal told a Tri-Cities judge Monday that he didn’t understand what landed him in the jail.

“I’m not a violent person,” said Jose Ricardo Chavez-Negrete. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

The 19-year-old is currently being held in Benton County on suspicion of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and illegally possessing a gun.

There are conflicting accounts about why the teen was on Apollo Boulevard on Saturday night. One person said he was selling marijuana, and another said it was a gun sale.

Either way, Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge said the teen poses a serious danger to the community and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

“While the accounts differ whether this was a drug deal or if he this was selling a firearm, the end result is the same,” the prosecutor said as he asked for $500,000 bail.

“To put it bluntly, Mr. Chavez should not have had marijuana. He should not have had a gun and he should not have shot someone over a couple hundred dollars.”

Commissioner Megan Whitmire agreed to set bail at $500,000, after Chavez-Negrete’s attorney chose to wait for another hearing to argue for a lower bail amount

Shooting accounts

The victim told police he was buying marijuana when he met Chavez-Negrete about 8:45 p.m. on Saturday, according to court records.

The buyer had known Chavez-Negrete, a Norteno gang member who goes by the name “Peanut,” for about a year and had gotten a ride from him before, he told investigators.

Chavez-Negrete was in the front passenger seat and the dealer’s girlfriend was behind the wheel, according to court documents.

Court documents are unclear where the victim was standing when he pulled out the $300 he planned to use to buy the drugs, but it appears that he was outside the car.

He asked if Chavez-Negrete could make change, the man said he could, and then allegedly grabbed the money.

Chavez-Negrete then dove into the back seat, the victim reached into the back of the car to try and get back the cash.

The dealer allegedly responded by shooting the other man in the shoulder. At the same time, Chavez-Negrete’s girlfriend started to pull away, dragging the man several hundred feet before he fell.

Someone in a private car took him to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland for treatment.

Police later arrested Chavez-Negrete at a Toppenish home, court documents said.

His girlfriend told investigators that they had met with the man to sell him a gun. The man handed Chavez-Negrete money, but then started “acting weird.”

They were afraid that he had a gun, and she said Chavez-Negrete shot the man and they drove away. She told investigators that she didn’t see a gun.