By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Tenino resident initially accused of being the gun man in a Chehalis drive-by shooting was in court again last week after charges against him were dismissed but prosecutors made new allegations.
Ruben Alberto Palomares
Authorities now say Ruben Alberto Palomares, 25, threatened a witness and possessed false identification.
Palomares turned himself in just days after police were called to a residential neighborhood when somebody in a red Chevrolet Blazer stuck a pistol out the window and fired a round that struck an unoccupied vehicle early on Aug. 7. Police believe it was gang related.
His 24-year-old wife Christina Palomares remains in custody, having been arrested and charged for being the driver. A Chehalis man and a Centralia man detectives believe were also in the Blazer remain at large.
Witnesses in the case implicated two different individuals as the shooter, according to charging documents. The alleged intended target, Rolando Carrillo Cruz, told a police detective he was certain it was Andrew Morales-Loberg somebody he’s known since they were children; yet Christina Palomares pointed to her husband, according to the documents.
Defense attorney Don Blair filed a motion to dismiss the charges against his client, Ruben Palomares, arguing the wife’s statements against her husband should be inadmissible because her information came from privileged marital communications. Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey agreed on Tuesday, and agreed the remaining facts were insufficient to sustain a charge against Ruben Palomares.
Ruben Palomares on Thursday pleaded not guilty to the new charges of tampering with a witness and forgery. His bail, previously set at $1 million, has been reduced to $25,000.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Steve Scott alleges in charging documents that Ruben Palomares called his sister-in-law and ended up speaking to his mother-in-law in the days after the shooting incident and told her, “If they or anyone else snitch on me, I will take care of it.” He also allegedly said to tell his wife she “needs to keep her mouth shut.”
The couple, according to attorneys, have three children and have been married almost four years.
Christina Palomares has told more than one story to police detectives, including that she was at home in Tenino at the time the incident happened in Chehalis.
The other new charge against Ruben Palomares comes from a Washington State identification card his sister-in-law handed over to detectives.
According to charging documents, the card shows his photo but is in the name of Martin Ledesma, with a birthdate of January 23, 1969 and the Palomares’ home address.
He worked almost five years – until March – at a fabricating company in the Chehalis Industrial Park, under the name of Ledesma, according to charging documents.
Ruben Palomares is a former Rochester High School student who has lived in the area since he was six years old, according to an attorney who represented him at his first court appearance.
A copy of his marriage certificate in his court file lists his birthplace as Mexico.
Andrew Morales-Loberg
Juan Valentino Vasquez
Chehalis police continue to seek two men wanted as suspects in the drive-by shooting. They are Morales-Loberg, 19, of Chehalis; and Juan Valentino Vasquez, also known by his street name “Grover”, 24, of Centralia.
•••
To read a previous story with more details of what prosecutors allege occurred in the drive-by shooting, click here.
And, “Mother of three charged in Chehalis drive-by shooting, husband turns self in” click here.
Join us