Solis pleads guilty to attempted 'snitch' murder

EPHRATA — Jose Solis, 21, Moses Lake, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a man at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in January.

Solis pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the second degree on Dec. 9, according to Grant County Superior Court records.

He was originally charged with attempted murder in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree and tampering with physical evidence.

Prosecutor John Knodell requested Solis be sentenced to the low end of the sentencing range at 8 years. The maximum term for both of them is life in prison, according to court records.

A judge is set to sentence Solis today.

Jose Solis, along with his brother Miguel Solis Jr., 25, Moses Lake, brought Raul Vasquez from Pasco, Wash., to the refuge, about 20 miles south of Moses Lake, according to Grant County prosecutors. When they arrived Miguel Solis Jr. ordered him to get out of the car.

Then Miguel Solis Jr. called Vasquez a snitch and shot at him with a .38 caliber revolver, according to Grant County police records. Jose Solis shot at him with a .22 caliber Derringer. Vasquez was shot in the neck and shoulder.

The victim started running after he was shot, according to prosecutors. He hid in some bushes, and broke through the ice and fell into a pool of water before escaping the brothers. He woke up the refuge’s manager to get a ride to the hospital.

Miguel Solis Jr. was convicted of attempted murder in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment and unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree in October.