He tried to shoot a Kennewick police officer during a chase, but missed. She didn’t

A convicted felon was sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting at a Kennewick police officer in a tense gun battle at an apartment complex.

Nearly three years after Anthony L. Martinez-Mata, 29, shot at Officer Avery Smith, he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault with a firearm and third-degree assault.

The decision came on the sixth day of his trial last week.

Investigators said Martinez-Mata was waiting for Smith at the Clearwater Bay Apartments on Sept. 13, 2022. Smith, along with other detectives were trying arrest him on several outstanding warrants.

At the time, he was wanted on suspicion of threatening someone in a WinCo parking lot, and for failing to check-in after he was released on a 2018 conviction for drive-by shooting.

Martinez-Mata’s criminal history goes back more than a decade to when he was a juvenile and includes convictions for drive-by shooting, second-degree assault and illegally possessing a gun

His current sentence carried a mandatory three years for using a gun in the crime. He would normally face between eight and 10 years in prison, court documents said.

However, as part of the plea agreement, Martinez-Mata agreed to an exceptional sentence of 15 years in prison.

Judge David Petersen followed the recommendation.

The Regional Special Investigations Unit handled this case. The unit includes detectives from Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties and examines whether officers broke the law during shooting.

Prosecutor Eric Eisinger said multiple witnesses saw Martinez-Mata point the gun at Smith and open fire. The officer believed the suspect was going to kill her.

“When Officer Smith returned fire, she had a reasonable concern for her safety and for the safety of others,” Eisinger wrote. “I conclude that Officer Smith’s use of force was lawful, reasonable and proportional to the threat Martinez-Mata presented to her and to others and thus no criminal charges are warranted.”

Shooting

Martinez-Mata was one of several people Kennewick and Richland police, along with Benton County deputies, were looking for as part of a “top offender roundup” on Sept. 13, 2022, Eisinger wrote.

The goal of the roundup was to arrest several people with active warrants, detectives discussed that Martinez-Mata had a history of being armed, assaulting people and using drugs.

Detective Cory McGee was in an unmarked car trying to find Martinez-Mata when he spotted him approaching a black Acura in the parking lot of the Clearwater Bay Apartments. Smith was one of the officers who responded when McGee asked for help.

When she found the black Acura driving through the parking lot. She waited while McGee blocked the other entrance onto Edison.

After determining the Acura was still in the parking lot, Smith drove around until she spotted it empty next to the garage building.

Two men working on a car in the area pointed southwest. She began to make a U-turn when Martinez-Mata stepped out from the west side of the building while holding his motorcycle helmet.

Kennewick police said in a video about the incident that Smith caught up with Martinez-Mata as he was trying to start a motorcycle.

When Martinez-Mata spotted the police car, he began running.

She followed in her car to the area around the C and D buildings. Smith was heard on body camera asking a woman where Martinez-Mata went.

“Officer Smith’s voice trails off as she observed Martinez-Mata point the muzzle of a silver handgun directly at her,” Eisinger said. “Officer Smith placed her vehicle in park, opened her door and rolled out of her driver side door just as Martinez-Mata fired the first gunshot in her direction.”

Once outside, she stayed down with the vehicle between herself and Martinez-Mata and worked her way to the back of the car. Martinez-Mata fired two more shots at Smith before she returned fire.

After exchanging more shots, Martinez-Mata ran into a stranger’s apartment, and the resident was able to slip out of a window. Martinez-Mata was barricaded in the room for hours while he negotiated with the SWAT team members and eventually surrendered.

Once he surrendered, police learned Martinez-Mata had been struck by a bullet in the left arm. He didn’t have any other injuries

Smith was not hit in the shooting.