Teen sought for homicide

Moses Lake Police looking for Ismael Ortiz

MOSES LAKE - A 16-year-old male is wanted in connection to the shooting death of a Moses Lake teenager.

A warrant was issued Friday for the arrest of Ismael Ortiz, 16, Moses Lake, for manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm concerning the death of 18-year-old Leoncio Garcia, Moses Lake Police Sgt. David Sands reported.

A photo of Ortiz is not available.

According to Sands the suspect is approximately 6-feet-tall and weighs more than 230 pounds. Ortiz has brown eyes and brown hair.

Garcia was shot once in the chest with a .22 caliber revolver the afternoon of Nov. 10 at a residence on Cascade Avenue in Moses Lake, Moses Lake Police Capt. Dave Ruffin said. The West Cascade Avenue residence is where Ortiz lives.

"The weapon has not yet been recovered," Sands stated.

Garcia was reportedly shot at the residence and transported from the scene in a personal vehicle by a neighbor, he reported. The vehicle was located by police.

Garcia was taken to Samaritan Healthcare for treatment and was later transported to Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane where he died, Ruffin said.

The information leading to the warrant issuance was obtained through interviews with witnesses at and near the residence, Moses Lake Police Capt. Jim Jenkins said. It remains unclear why Garcia was at Ortiz's residence.

The investigation revealed Garcia and Ortiz knew each other, he said.

The shooting is not gang related, Jenkins said.