KENNEWICK — A 4-year-old girl was riding in the back of a Chrysler Pacifica when gunfire erupted at a Kennewick intersection.
She told police she heard “Pop. Pop. Pop.” as Ramon “Hondo” Candido opened fire on a Kia Sorento. Then she was placed on the floor with a blanket over her face, according to court records.
Candido, 26, is accused of killing the passenger in the Kia, Ezekiel Sanchez, 25, on April 20 while the girl’s mother, Beatriz Terrazas, drove the Chrysler.
Candido is being held on $1 million bail on suspicion of second-degree murder, while police continue to investigate.
Terrazas is being held on first-degree rendering criminal assistance for being the driver in the gang-related shooting.
Timeline
A receipt found on the victim, and a tip about where the shooting took place led police to begin piecing together a timeline of events, mostly made up of surveillance camera footage.
Terrazas and her daughter were spotted going into the McDonald’s parking lot shortly before 4:45 p.m. The cameras show them get out of the car.
Minutes later cameras catch the car leaving the parking lot.
Around the same time, Sanchez was at Coyote Bob’s Roadhouse Casino with Alexis Talavera-Gonzalez, the man who police believe was driving the Kia Sorento.
Then traffic cameras show the Sorento pull up next to the Pacifica near the intersection of Dayton Street and First Avenue at 4:53 p.m. A Ben Franklin Transit bus picked up the sound of gunshots.
Kennewick investigators believe the two exchanged gunfire before Sanchez was hit in the head.
After the shooting, both cars raced south past Kennewick High School, then sped along Sixth Avenue, Garfield Street, Fourth Avenue and Olympia Street before going separate ways.
A witness spotted the Sorento race past Park Middle School going 50 mph in the turn lane as it headed to the emergency room. Investigators say he was followed to the hospital by a woman driving a Cadillac CTS.
Investigation
It’s unclear when Talavera-Gonzales called the woman who was driving the Cadillac CTS, according to court records.
He left the Sorento behind at the emergency room parking lot and got into the Cadillac. Investigators said the Sorento had blood inside and bullet holes in the hood.
Sanchez wasn’t breathing when he was dropped off at the freestanding Kadlec emergency room, and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
Police discovered the Cadillac as it was driving on 10th Avenue near Dayton Street. They followed it to the home on Fifth Avenue where Talavera-Gonzales ran out of the car and into what turned out to be Sanchez’s home.
They would later find Talavera-Gonzales with blood on his pants.
The camera footage and the tip about the shooting location led police to the Pacifica that was registered to both Terrazas and Candido, according to police.
Police were watching Terrazas’ home at 312 S. Kellogg St. on Monday when they saw the Pacifica pull into the driveway with Candido behind the wheel.
On Monday around 5 p.m., police followed it to Terrazas’ workplace on Sixth Avenue, where police arrested Candido and Terrazas. The 4-year-old girl was also in the car at the time.
Terrazas initially denied being in the area of the shooting, but later said she was in the car, and saw Talavera-Gonzalez and heard gunshots, but didn’t see anything.
Her daughter said she had seen “Hondo” shooting backward before being laid on the floor of the car.
