Accused shooter pleads innocent to gunning down 23-year-old mom in Pasco
An 30-year-old man pleaded innocent on Tuesday to shooting a 23-year-old mother over a stolen gun.
Jose A. Sanchez appeared by video from the Franklin County jail after being charged with second-degree murder. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 29.
He continues to be held in the Franklin County jail in lieu of $2 million bail.
Sanchez and Jonathon Villegas, 30, are accused of shooting and killing Lupita Ponce-Penaloza during an argument about a gun, police said.
Ponce-Penaloza went to the garage converted into an apartment on Marie Street on July 22 to meet with Villegas, who she knew as “Trucha,” court documents said.
In a message to a friend, Ponce-Penaloza questioned whether “Trucha” had “set her up.”
Electronic data that police received through search warrants shows Villegas contacted Sanchez and let him know he was with Ponce-Penaloza. Sanchez then drove to the Pasco home. When he arrived, an argument about the stolen gun began, said court documents.
Villegas and then Sanchez allegedly shot Ponce-Penaloza several times about 2:20 a.m. July 23. She died at the scene, court documents said.
Sanchez allegedly fled to Yakima, court documents said.
Washington State Patrol crime lab investigators have confirmed two different calibers of shell casings were found at the apartment.
Police confirmed that Ponce-Penaloza had allegedly taken a gun from Sanchez on June 8.