Drive-by shooter's mental health evaluated
EPHRATA — Proceedings against an alleged shooter in a July drive-by stopped so the man’s mental health can be evaluated.
Grant County Superior Court Judge John Knodell ordered Saul Olivares, 20, Moses Lake, be evaluated by a doctor at Eastern State Hospital to determine his mental state when he allegedly shot at a woman in July.
Olivares is facing one count of attempted first-degree murder, drive-by shooting, riot and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree.
The man was allegedly riding in the passenger’s seat of a black Dodge pickup truck, when he fired four to six shots toward the victim and a car, according to a Moses Lake police report. One of the shots grazed the victim’s face.
A police officer responding to the incident spotted the Dodge driving on the wrong side of Central Avenue. After following it, the officer stopped the vehicle, according to the police report.
The six people in the truck got out and started walking toward a house, when the officer ordered them to lay on the ground. A patrol car video camera reportedly filmed Saul Olivares getting out of the passenger’s side of the truck, taking off a pair of gloves and sticking something into his pants, according to the police report. Police found a gun a short distance from where the truck was stopped.
Saul Olivares allegedly admitted to shooting the gun, stating he wanted revenge on a rival gang. He reportedly believed the people living at the Washington Street residence are connected to a gang responsible for an alleged drive-by shooting, where his brother was present, and a fight he had with two gang members in front of a store in Moses Lake.
He reportedly told police he wanted to intimidate one of the gang members and aimed the gun high, shooting two shots at the people and two shots into the air, before his brother drove them away from Washington Street.
The truck’s driver, Erik C. Olivares, 22, Moses Lake, pleaded guilty to assault in the second degree in Grant County Superior Court. Charges of attempted murder in the first degree and drive-by shooting were dropped as part of the plea agreement.