News / Clark County News

Woman pleads guilty in Hockinson homicide

Traci Mendez will testify against four co-defendants in slaying of Raymond Brandon

By Jessica Prokop, Columbian Local News Editor

Published: July 19, 2018, 11:03am

2 Photos

Traci Lynn Mendez, who’s accused of conspiring with four acquaintances in the beating and fatal shooting of Raymond Brandon, appears in Clark County Superior Court on Aug. 2. Andy Bao/The Columbian Photo Gallery

A woman involved in the beating and fatal shooting of a man whose body was found in a shed at her Hockinson-area residence pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder, as part of a cooperation agreement.

Traci Lynn Mendez has agreed to testify against her four co-defendants: Neil Allen Alway, 40, Ashley Lorraine Barry, 32, John Michael West, 44, and Ashley L. Wideman, 24, all transients, court records show.

Mendez, 42, conspired with the group to lure Raymond C. Brandon, 34, and his girlfriend, Allison Fields, to her residence to settle a debt over a Subaru Forester he was driving, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Brandon’s body was found April 27, 2017, nearly a week after he was killed at Mendez’s residence, 15308 N.E. 172nd Ave., southeast of Hockinson High School.

As part of Mendez’s agreement, a charge of first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement and another firearm enhancement attached to the second-degree murder charge were dismissed.

If she follows the agreement, the prosecution will recommend an 11-year prison sentence. Mendez will be sentenced after the trials for her co-defendants; a sentencing date of Jan. 16 was set, court records show.

However, if Mendez breaches the agreement, the prosecution will be allowed to pursue the original charges against her. If she were to be convicted, she’d face a sentencing range of 25 years to 31 years, eight months, which includes a 60-month firearm enhancement, the cooperation agreement states.

According to the affidavit, Brandon and Fields arrived at Mendez’s house on the morning of April 20, 2017, and were ambushed by the group. A chaotic confrontation ensued, and Alway and West led Brandon outside where he was beaten and fatally shot in the chest. Fields was forced to stay with the group or risk being killed herself.

Afterward, Mendez drove the group and Fields in her SUV to a farm off Northeast 119th Street, and Fields eventually escaped, court records say.

Wideman also entered into a cooperation agreement in September but has not yet pleaded guilty. Her agreement requires her to plead guilty to unlawful imprisonment and second-degree rendering criminal assistance, and testify against the others. In exchange, the prosecution will recommend a sentence of time served — about six months. A sentencing date has not been set.

Mendez will only testify against Wideman if Wideman breaches her cooperation agreement and goes to trial, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Anna Klein said.

Alway faces first- and second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery, all with firearm enhancements, and first- and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

West faces first- and second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery, all with firearm enhancements, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm.

Barry faces first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery with firearm enhancements.

Their trial is set for Sept. 4.

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