DeLaCruz claims Larioz is innocent

EPHRATA — The alleged shooter of Juan “Pooky” Vasquez is asking for the charges against a second man to be dropped.

Cesar I. Ramos DeLaCruz, 27, Moses Lake, is charged with murder in the first degree in Grant County Superior Court. He pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Ramos DeLaCruz told Superior Court Judge John Antosz in a letter he would take responsibility for the charges against Frankie M. Larioz, 19, Moses Lake. Larioz is charged with murder in the first degree — complicity. He pleaded not guilty on July 6.

“He had nothing to do with it. He didn’t know what was going on, and I feel that he shouldn’t be charged for anything. And I will testify to that fact,” Ramos DeLaCruz stated.

All three men were in their vehicles at the intersection of Vandenberg Loop and Doolittle Drive when Ramos DeLaCruz brought up a small drug debt owed by a juvenile friend of Vasquez, according to a Grant County Sheriff’s Office report. When Vasquez began to leave the intersection due to the conversation, Ramos DeLaCruz reportedly exited the vehicle and shot Vasquez twice with a .357 Magnum. A third shot missed the victim, according to the sheriff’s office.

After being struck, Vasquez’s car collided with a Ford Bronco on Patton Boulevard. He was transported to Samaritan Healthcare where he was pronounced dead.

Frank Cikutovich, Larioz’s attorney, said he plans to ask the prosecutor to drop the charges against his client.

“Our position is our client is not responsible for anything and he is being held in jail,” he said. “My client initially completely cooperated with the police. He breaks down in tears over the loss of what he felt was his cousin. He really had no knowledge of what was going on.”

Cikutovich said the family wants to go into counseling to recover from the event.

While Chief Deputy Ed Owens said he wasn’t able to comment on what would happen with the case, he said there would be an investigation into the letter.

“Obviously we don’t want to charge them with something that they didn’t do, but it wouldn’t be the first time that somebody says someone else didn’t do it and it turns out they did,” he said. “We’re going to take a look at it and we’ll follow up on it.”

He said the investigation would be turned over to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, and didn’t have a timeline for when it would be completed.

“The information just came over (Monday),” he said.

Ramos DeLaCruz’s attorney, Robert Kentner was not available for comment.