Gang member sentenced for taking car, having gun

EPHRATA -  A Mattawa man will serve more than a year in prison after being accused of shooting at a car and trying to rob a couple of their car.

Jose L. Olivares Garcia, 23, Mattawa, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree and taking a vehicle without permission in the second degree, according to court records.

Olivares Garcia was originally charged with assault in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, and taking a vehicle without permission, according to court records. The assault and robbery charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Olivares Garcia has prior convictions for attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, taking a vehicle without permission in the second degree, assault in the third degree and unlawful imprisonment, according to court records. When combined with his present crimes, Olivares Garcia faced a sentencing range of a year and five months to a year and 10 months in prison.

Grant County Superior Court John Antosz followed the prosecutor's recommendation to sentence Olivares Garcia to the low end of the sentencing range. He sentenced Olivares Garcia to a year and five months in prison.

Mattawa police responded to reports of two gang members causing a disturbance with a blue Ford Focus, according to court records. A witness told an officer they shot at the car.

After shooting at the Ford, Olivares Garcia and Juan D. Barajas, 16, Mattawa, reportedly went to a nearby apartment, where a couple were unloading groceries from their vehicle. The couple refused to give them a ride.

Olivares Garcia allegedly drew a pistol from his shirt and loaded a round into the chamber. He and Barajas crouched behind a vehicle and started looking around, according to the Mattawa police report. The victim took advantage of the distraction to run inside of his house

The man told his wife to call 9-1-1, and Olivares Garcia and Barajas reportedly got into the vehicle, starting it and began to accelerate, according to the police report. When a police car started approaching the apartment, the suspects allegedly got out of the car and ran around a nearby apartment building.

Barajas was initially charged in juvenile court, but his case was moved into adult court following a decline hearing, according to court records. He remains charged with robbery in the first degree.