Man who ambushed and shot former co-worker in a Prosser parking lot headed to prison

A Prosser man was sentenced to nearly eight years in prison for shooting a former co-worker near Zirkle Fruit Company.

Emmanuel Munoz, 26, and his co-worker, Marco Pineda, didn’t like each other during the about 2 1/2 years they worked together. The dislike continued even after Munoz was fired, court documents said.

It finally boiled over into violence in a parking lot on January 2023 when Munoz shot Pineda on the 2800 block of Lee Road.

Nearly a year later, he pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court to first-degree assault.

He had no prior felony convictions, so he faced between seven years and nine months and 10 years and three months for the crime.

Judge Jackie Stam followed the attorney’s recommendation for the minimum end of the range.

It’s not clear what started problems between the men, but Pineda told investigators that they had crossed paths at Walmart after Munoz had been fired and Munoz looked at Pineda in a way that upset him, court documents said.

On the day of the shooting, Pineda saw Munoz at a store on Wine Country Road and confronted him about 2:40 p.m. Their argument turned into fistfight that ended up with police being called, court documents said. They told officers that they didn’t want to press charges.

Pineda returned to work at Zirkle Fruit Company for the rest of the day. As he was leaving, he got a phone call that Munoz was waiting for him near the railroad tracks.

He saw Munoz pull into the parking lot and believed Munoz wanted to fight again. Pineda pulled in as well.

Both men got out of their cars, and Pineda spotted the gun in Munoz’s hand. When Pineda started running, Munoz opened fire, hitting Pineda once.

Pineda ran toward Max Benitz Road while Munoz continued shooting. He dove to the ground to avoid getting hit again.

One of Pineda’s friends stopped, picked him up and drove him to Prosser Memorial Hospital where he was treated.

Munoz fled, but was arrested a week later.