Second drive-by shooter pleads guilty

EPHRATA - The second shooter in a 2010 drive-by killing pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree.

Luis A. Mejia Nunez, 21, Mattawa, was originally charged with murder in the first degree in the gang-related shooting of 17-year-old Carlos Leyva.

Prosecutor Angus Lee said the charge was lessened to secure a conviction, saying the only witness willing to testify changed what he told police.

"The only direct evidence that could be used was the statements of the other occupants of the car," he said. "There were no guns recovered and none of the victims were willing to cooperate and identify the individuals who committed the act ... Had the victims been willing to cooperate it would have certainly changed the case that we had to present to the jury."

Mejia Nunez faces a minimum sentence of 11 years and two months and a maximum sentence of 19 years and six months, according to court records. Prosecutors plan to ask for a 14-year-and-two-month sentence.

Mejia Nunez and Sergio C. Corrales, 16, Mattawa, were riding in the back seat of a car when they passed three members of a rival gang walking on Road T.5 Southwest. As the car passed the group, one of the occupants "flipped them off or did some other hand gesture," according to the Grant County sheriff's report.

They returned about 10 minutes later and Mejia Nunez and Corrales fired from the rear windows, striking and killing Leyva. An 18-year-old man was also struck in the ankle and transported to Samaritan Healthcare.

Corrales pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for the shooting, and was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.

Martin O. Ramos, 41, Royal City was the driver of the car, and pleaded guilty to rendering criminal assistance in the first degree. He has not been sentenced.