A 19-year-old man was charged this week with premeditated first-degree murder, accused of fatally shooting a man in Kent last month and then driving around with the victim’s body before the vehicle was found days later, according to King County prosecutors.
Robbery was the apparent motive for the homicide, according to charges filed Monday against Kevyn Mota-Navarro, whose last known address is in Bonney Lake. He was arrested Oct. 28 at a family member’s Kent apartment and remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, jail and court records show.
His brother, 20-year-old Christian Mota-Navarro, was also arrested Oct. 28 at the same apartment and has since been charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance and possession of a stolen vehicle, accused of helping conceal the victim’s body and stealing the victim’s car with his brother, prosecutors say. He remains jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Killed was 23-year-old Joel Cruz Rizo, who was fatally shot Oct. 15 but his body wasn’t found until his friends were directed to the location of his stolen car on Oct. 18 and summoned police, say the charges against the brothers
Just after 11:30 p.m., Kent police responded to reports of gunfire outside a Dollar Tree store in the 23400 block of Pacific Highway South. When officers arrived, they found no evidence of a shooting or any eyewitnesses, charging papers say.
The next day, two friends began searching for the missing Cruz Rizo and his black Nissan Altima with a distinctive hood, according to the charges.
That afternoon, the friends spotted the Altima in the drive-thru at an espresso stand about a mile south of the Dollar Tree and one of them confronted two men inside the vehicle, the charges say. When one of the men pulled a gun on the friend, the friend pulled her own weapon and the barista called 911. The men in the Altima drove away and the friend walked off before police arrived, according to the charges.
Just before 3 p.m. on Oct. 18, the same two friends called 911 after locating Cruz Rizo’s locked Altima parked in the 2700 block of South 256th Place in Kent and reported that it appeared a body was in the car’s back seat. A Kent police officer broke one of the car’s windows and officers found Cruz Rizo’s body, which had been partially concealed with pieces of clothing, a sunshade and other items, say the charges.
During the investigation, police also spoke with a man who said he witnessed the shooting. He told detectives he was in the Altima’s front passenger seat and three other men got in the back. An argument ensued and Cruz Rizo ordered the other men out of his car, and two of the men from the back seat began assaulting Cruz Rizo, say the charges, which identified one of them as Christian Mato-Navarro.
The witness told police Kevyn Mato-Navarro, who had also been in the back seat, demanded to know where Cruz Rizo’s gold necklace was and then shot him, at which point the witness ran from the scene, charging papers say.
Kent police detectives say Kevyn Mato-Navarro told them during an interview he shot Cruz Rizo in the leg and arm and then ordered him into the back seat, where Mato-Navarro shot Cruz Rizo in the head, killing him, according to the charges. Police say Mato-Navarro said he killed Cruz Rizo because Cruz Rizo had “disrespected him and his brother,” say the charges.
Cruz Rizo’s car was ultimately found less than a quarter mile from the apartment where the brothers were later arrested, say the charges. During a search of the apartment, police found a handgun believed to be used in the shooting and some of Cruz Rizo’s possessions, according to charging papers.
Both brothers are to be arraigned Nov. 15.
