By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $1 million for the individual prosecutors say is identified as the gun man in the drive-by shooting on Southwest William Street in Chehalis over the weekend.
The 25-year-old Tenino resident is listed as Ruben Alberto Palomares G. in court papers; Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Steve Scott said he doesn’t know what the “G” stands for.
Palomares turned himself in to authorities Tuesday night, three days after police were called to a residential neighborhood when one of several individuals in a red Chevrolet Blazer stuck a pistol out the window and fired a round that struck an unoccupied vehicle.
The intended target is named as Rolando Carrillo Cruz, who was standing next to the car, according to charging documents.
Palomares was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree assault and drive-by shooting.
His 24-year-old wife Christina Palomares is in custody, having been arrested for being the driver. A Chehalis man and a Centralia man police believe were also in the Blazer remain at large.
Authorities describe the shooting as related to a debt owed to somebody called “Candy man” and perpetrated by the LVL gang.
Defense attorney Bob Schroeter yesterday told the judge his client is a former Rochester High School student who has lived in the area since he was six years old.
Three jail guards stood by during the brief hearing in the Chehalis courtroom. Ruben Palomares, dressed in red jail garb and shackled at his waist and feet, wore a bullet proof vest.
Deputy Prosecutor Scott asked for $1 million bail because the suspect is identified in the probable cause statement as the shooter, because of the threat to the community and the possibility he might flee. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a “hold” on him as well, Scott told Judge Nelson Hunt.
Witnesses in the case implicate two different individuals as the shooter, according to charging documents. Cruz told a police detective he was certain it was Andrew Morales-Loberg; and Christina Palomares points to her husband, according to the documents.
First-degree assault carries a maximum possible penalty of life in prison.
Both Palomares’s are expected back in court today to make their pleas. Both qualified for court appointed attorneys.
Attorney Schroeter said the couple’s three children are being cared for by family.
Five hundred thousand dollar warrants were issued yesterday for the other suspects, Morales-Loberg, 19, of Chehalis; and Juan Valentino Vasquez, also known by his street name “Grover”, 24, of Centralia.
Andrew Morales-Loberg
Juan Valentino Vasquez
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To read yesterday’s news story, “Mother of three charged in Chehalis drive-by shooting, husband turns self in ” click here.
To read Monday’s news brief, “Suspected gang members sought after drive-by shooting in Chehalis” click here.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter