Murder or self-defense? Trial starts in gang-related 2022 Kennewick shooting

Violence erupted at a Kennewick intersection on a cloudy April day in 2022, but attorneys dispute the moments leading up to it.

Prosecutors say Ramon A. Candido, 28, struck first at his rival gang members by firing one shot that killed 25-year-old Ezekiel Sanchez.

But his defense attorney argues that Candido was just trying to protect his pregnant girlfriend and her daughter from a pair of aggressive gang members.

Candido’s trial for second-degree murder and illegally possessing a gun opened last week.

It’s been more than a year and a half since Alexis Talavera-Gonzalez dropped off Sanchez at a Kadlec Regional Medical Center free-standing emergency room in Kennewick and then fled.

About a week later, Candido, 28, and his then girlfriend and now wife, Beatriz Terrazas, were arrested.

She was initially accused of helping him escape, but is now charged with not reporting the violent crime, a misdemeanor.

Police initially thought she was driving the car while Candido fired, but officials now believe he was behind the wheel.

The couple were arrested about a week later.

3 men, 2 rival gangs

The case involves three men in two vehicles at the corner of First Avenue and Dayton Street in Kennewick on April 20, 2022, said Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge.

Alexis Talavera-Gonzalez was driving a Kia Sorrento and accused gang member Sanchez was in the passenger’s seat.

The other vehicle was a Chrysler Pacifica driven by Candido, with Terrazas and her daughter inside.

“This is not a simple case,” Grandgeorge said. “What we have is a messy tragedy. ... There were no heroes. There were no saints, no knights in shining armor.”

Prior to the meeting, Candido and Terrazas had lunch on Columbia Center Boulevard and then stopped at a McDonald’s at the corner of Kennewick Avenue and Highway 395.

And Sanchez and Talavera-Gonzalez had spent the afternoon at Coyote Bob’s casino on Kennewick Avenue.

The two groups crossed paths on Dayton Avenue. Grandgeorge said a video will show the two cars meet at the intersection, and then a shot was fired that hit and killed Sanchez.

After the shot, Candido took off and fired another shot at the two men. Talavera-Gonzalez initially chased after him before heading toward the emergency room on Highway 395 and 19th Avenue.

Along the way Talavera-Gonzalez called his girlfriend to pick him up.

When they arrived, Talavera-Gonzalez ran in and told them that his brother had been shot. Staff at the emergency room ran to the car and took Sanchez out, Grandgeorge said. They tried to save his life, but weren’t able to.

About the same time, Talavera left the hospital in a Cadillac. It was later spotted by Kennewick Police Chief Chris Guerrero, who stopped it on Fifth Avenue near Washington Street.

Talavera-Gonzalez allegedly ran out of the car and into a nearby house when the car stopped.

After his arrest, Candido gave several versions about what happened, Grandgeorge said. This included claiming he was never there, that Sanchez shot himself or was shot by his friend, then saying the Talavera and Sanchez were following him.

Grandgeorge said the jury will get to hear a conversation he had on a jail phone about how he watched Sanchez’s “head explode.” He bragged to friends in the gang about the shooting.

“Not an ounce of remorse ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “Once you see the evidence, you’ll know what the truth is. You’ll see that on April 20, 2022, at the intersection of First and Dayton, Ramon Alejandro Candido, using a gun he can not legally possess, shot and killed Ezekiel Sanchez.”

Self-defense contention

Defense Attorney Hayden Sebald told jurors that his client was only trying to protect his family from a pair of gang members who were aggressively tailing them.

He said that the Kia Sorrento pulled next to the Pacifica, and Talavera-Gonzalez pulled out a gun and pointed it at Candido.

Sebald said Candido had been part of the same gang as Sanchez and Talavera, but had changed that association, and that led to a great deal of animosity aimed at Candido.

He also noted that there was a .22 caliber shell casing found at the scene that was found at the scene.

This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 10:53 AM.