Beverly murder is gang related

EPHRATA —  Two people are facing murder charges for a gang-related, drive-by shooting between near Beverly on March 7.

Luis. A. Mejia Nunez, 20, Mattawa, and a 15-year-old juvenile are each charged with one count of murder in the first degree and one count of attempted first degree murder in Grant County Superior Court.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline set bail at $1 million for each defendant.

Prosecutors filed for a hearing in an attempt to charge the 15-year-old as an adult, Prosecutor Angus Lee said.

Mejia Nunez and the 15-year-old were riding in the back seat of a car, when they spotted three members of a rival gang walking along the edge of the street. As the car passed them, one of occupants “flipped them off or did some other hand gesture,” according to a Grant County sheriff’s report.

The car returned about 10 minutes later and Mejia Nunez and the 15-year-old allegedly fired at the pedestrians, striking and killing 17-year-old Carlos D. Leyva, and an 18-year-old man, according to the police report. The 18-year-old was struck in the ankle and transported to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.