Murder charge dismissed

EPHRATA - Prosecutors dropped a murder charge for a man accused of taking part in a 2009 killing in Warden.

Adrian Adame-Madrid, 20, Othello, pleaded guilty to robbery in the second degree in Grant County Superior Court.

A count of first degree murder was dropped and a count of robbery in the first degree was lessened.

Prosecutor Angus Lee stated first degree murder and robbery in the first degree required Adame-Madrid to know the alleged shooter, Israel Morfin, 28, Sunnyside, had a gun.

"Upon final review of all available evidence it was clear that Madrid was never at any point during the robbery armed with a deadly weapon," Lee stated. "There was also no direct evidence to establish that Madrid had any information that the actual shooter was armed until after Madrid's involvement with the robbery was completed. Based on these facts the appropriate charge for this defendant was robbery (in the second degree) which does not require evidence that Madrid used a gun."

Prosecutors plan to ask for the minimum sentence of a year and 10 months in prison, according to court records. He could have faced a maximum of two years and five months.

Adame-Madrid and Morfin stopped behind the car Manuel A. Arousa was sitting in. When the men reportedly started taking a stereo from the car, Morfin and Arousa began arguing about money the victim owed. Arousa gave money to Morfin, and the two men allegedly continued removing the stereo, according to a Grant County sheriff's report.

A witness reported Arousa said something to Morfin, upsetting the Sunnyside man, causing him to start beating Arousa with an automatic pistol, according to the police report. The gun fired during the attack and the bullet struck Arousa in the head.

The two men reportedly fled Warden. Police reportedly spotted Morfin's car at the intersection of Bench Road and state Route 24. Morfin allegedly continued driving after the officer tried to stop him, according to the police report. The chase ended when the car hit a spike strip on state Route 241.

Morfin still faces a count of aggravated murder, along with unlawful possession of a firearm and attempting to elude police.