Rival gang member gets 30-year prison sentence for Kennewick downtown drive-by killing
A gang member will spend 30 years in prison for a deadly shooting in downtown Kennewick two years ago.
Judge Sam Swanberg handed down the sentence for Ramon Candido, 28, late last week following a December trial. The jury found Candido guilty of second-degree murder and illegally gun possession.
Candido opened fire on two rival gang members at the intersection of First Avenue and Dayton Street in April 2022, killing Ezekiel Sanchez, 25.
The sentence had an extra year beyond the maximum Washington sentencing guidelines because the jury found Candido showed an egregious lack of remorse, according to court documents.
Deputy Prosecutor Brittnie Roehm had asked for three additional years to be added to the 29-year maximum. The maximum included an additional five years for using a gun in his crime.
Prosecutors argued during the 2-week trial that Candido was gang member who took an opportunity to kill a rival.
Sanchez, who was tied to the 2019 murder of a pregnant woman, had problems, but relatives said he still is missed daily. They said during the sentencing that Sanchez’s death had left an immeasurable loss in their lives, Roehm told the Herald.
Defense attorneys and Candido tried to say he was attempting to defend himself and his family from the two rivals who were looking to harm them.
Candido’s now wife, Beatriz Terrazas, blamed the driver of the other car, Alexis Talavera-Gonzalez, whom she said triggered the confrontation.
Downtown Kennewick shooting
Candido’s trial focused on what happened when the two cars arrived at the intersection of First Avenue and Dayton Street in Kennewick.
Talavera-Gonzalez was driving a Kia Sorrento with Sanchez in the passenger seat after they’d spent the afternoon at Coyote Bob’s casino.
Candido was driving a Chrysler Pacifica. His then girlfriend, now wife, Beatriz Terrazas, was in the passenger seat, and her 4-year-old daughter was in back.
When they crossed paths, Candido fired a shot that hit and killed Sanchez, Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge said during the trial.
Candido took off and fired another shot at the men. Talavera-Gonzalez initially chased after him before heading toward an emergency room on Highway 395 and 19th Avenue, but Sanchez couldn’t be saved.
Self-defense claim
Terrazas and Candido testified at the trial that Sanchez and Talavera-Gonzalez were yelling and threatening them.
She testified that while she didn’t see the other men with guns, she saw them reaching for something.
She crawled into the backseat to protect her daughter, she testified, and heard the shot, but didn’t see anyone get hit.
Defense attorney Hayden Sebald pointed out during opening statements that the three men used to be part of the same gang until Candido split off to join a rival group.
Sanchez was part of a group caught on camera stalking and fatally shooting a 20-year-old woman walking with her boyfriend in an east Kennewick neighborhood.
According to one person initially accused in the shooting, Sanchez fired shots at 20-year-old Andrea Nuñez but he was never charged with the crime.