Teen in jail after Pasco drive-by leaves man blind in one eye
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- A 19-year-old, Gilberto Ontiveros-Mendoza, jailed on suspicion of Oct. 3 Pasco drive-by.
- Pasco police allege he drove the car involved in shooting that blinded a man.
- Victim treated at Lourdes hospital after shooting suspected to be gang-related.
A 19-year-old is in jail after allegedly driving the car used in a shooting that blinded a Pasco man last month.
Gilberto Ontiveros-Mendoza was booked Monday into the Franklin County jail on suspicion of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting in connection with an Oct. 3 shooting.
Investigators believe Ontiveros-Mendoza was driving the car that night. The name of the suspected shooter has not been released.
The victim survived, but lost sight in his right eye, according to court documents.
Ontiveros-Mendoza is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. He has no prior criminal history, court records show.
Drive-by shooting
Pasco police were dispatched to Lourdes Medical Center about 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 3 for a report of a man who arrived to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the face.
The victim had been shot just under the right eye with a small-caliber gun. The bullet ricocheted up and exited through his eye.
The man told investigators he had been standing outside the Franklin County Historical Museum on 4th Avenue with another man when a Cadillac drove past.
The car turned around and drove back. The victim said he did not recognize any of four men in the car, and told them he was not “involved with ‘banging’” or gang activity.
A man in the front passenger seat allegedly pulled out a gun and fired one round. The victim told investigators he heard a loud pop and the impact knocked him onto his back, court documents said.
The other man standing with the victim helped him walk about a block to the hospital.
Searching for a suspect
Investigators said they were able to use traffic cameras to identify the vehicle as a 1989 Cadillac DeVille registered to Ontiveros-Mendoza. The traffic cameras showed the car passing victim and then return, before fleeing to Kennewick.
Officers were unable to find the car that night, but called Ontiveros-Mendoza’s mother, who said they had recently moved to Royal City.
Investigators and a Grant County Sheriff’s deputy went to the Royal City address on Oct. 7 and found the car parked behind the house.
Franklin County Superior Court Judge Bronson Brown approved a search warrant for the vehicle and home. While officers were serving the warrant, Ontiveros-Mendoza’s brother took him to the house, and he was detained.
He said that he wanted to “plead the 5th,” according to investigators.
His phone also was seized as part of the search warrant. It took about a month for detectives to get an analysis report from the FBI, which showed his phone had been traced directly to where the shooting happened, and then it moved from Pasco to Kennewick, said court documents.
The other suspects were not identified in the documents.
Investigators arrested Ontiveros-Mendoza in Royal City on Nov. 24. He made an initial appearance in Franklin County Superior Court on Tuesday.
