Female ‘enforcer’ tied to a 2018 Tri-Cities murder now suspected in new attack

A 34-year-old woman who has been called an “enforcer” by local prosecutors is charged with chasing, beating and shooting a man during an apparent robbery in Pasco.

Guadalupe A. Sanchez and two nieces were charged Tuesday with the first-degree assault of a 46-year-old man. He suffered a broken nose, welts on his head and a wound to his elbow where he was grazed by a bullet.

Sanchez, along with Evenie M. Landa-Riojas, 22, and Elisett Landa-Riojas, 21, are being held in the Franklin County jail on assault charges. Sanchez also is charged with first-degree robbery with a deadly weapon.

Sanchez has a history of trouble with the law, including helping two men hide the body of a West Richland mother in 2018. Other felony convictions in the past six years include assault, harassment and bail jumping.

Most recently she was convicted of fourth-degree assault after holding a woman at gunpoint for eight hours in Kennewick.

New Pasco charges

Sanchez and her nieces are charged with attacking a man inside a Marie Street home last week.

Officers found the injured man about 11:45 p.m. May 15 near the corner of 18th Avenue and West Henry Street, court documents said.

Sanchez allegedly pointed a small white pistol at his chest and told him “she could kill him,” according to court documents.

The nieces reportedly said they were gang members and, “He didn’t know who he was messing with.” They allegedly started hitting him and Sanchez joined in, police said. It’s unclear how they knew him.

The man and another person fled the house, but the women gave chase and continued the attack, said investigators.

Sanchez allegedly took the man’s phone and kept hitting him. Her nieces and another man also were involved, said court documents.

When the victim fell to the ground, Sanchez allegedly pointed the gun at him and fired, grazing his elbow, claim prosecutors.

Bail is set at $50,000 for Evenie and Elisett Landa-Riojas.

Sanchez is being held in lieu of $200,000.

2018 murder

Sanchez was sentenced in 2019 to helping dispose of Michelle Hudnall’s body in the Columbia River in 2018.

The body was found in the river near Carbody Beach about two months after she went missing.

Sanchez, along with her boyfriend Benny Rodriguez Lozano Jr., both eventually pleaded guilty to playing a role in Hudnall’s death.

Sanchez was sentenced to a year and three months in prison. Lozano pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

A third man, Florentino Jai Castillo, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Kennewick assault

Last December, Sanchez pleaded guilty to assaulting a women in a trailer in Kennewick and was sentenced to 70 days in jail, court documents said.

The victim told investigators she found Sanchez with a gun inside her trailer on Sept. 29 and was taken to a detached garage about half a mile away. She told police Sanchez took her phone and purse and tried to take a necklace she was wearing.

Sanchez held her for eight hours, pointing the gun at her several times and also hitting her before she was able to escape and call police, said court documents.

Witness tampering

Sanchez also has a witness tampering conviction after she threatened a domestic violence victim to change her story.

Ramon Jaimes-Galvez kidnapped the woman at gunpoint in July 2022, beating her and using a hot clothes hanger to brand her.

He called Sanchez from jail to get her to threaten the victim. Sanchez forced the woman to undress and hit and threatened her while armed with a gun.

Court documents said Sanchez finally freed the woman after she gave a taped statement recanting her allegations against Jaimes-Galvez.

Sanchez eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and eight months.

Jaimes-Galvez also pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to just under five years in prison.

This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.