Man pleads guilty to triple homicide
EPHRATA - The 25-year-old man accused in a 2009 triple homicide in Mattawa pleaded guilty to the murders in Grant County Superior Court.
J. Guadalupe Martinez-Lopez pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in the second degree and one count of attempted murder in the second degree.
Prosecutors lessened the charges from three counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the first degree.
Prosecutor Angus Lee said he spoke with the detectives, other law enforcement and the victims' families before accepting the plea. Martinez-Lopez' claim he murdered the men because of a past rape also played a role in his decision.
Martinez-Lopez faces between 38 years and five months and 68 years and nine months in prison. Sentencing is presently scheduled for Feb. 14.
Martinez-Lopez left a house on Road 24.7 Southwest near Mattawa with the first victim, saying they were going to the store. As they were driving, Martinez-Lopez told the victim "he was going to pay," before drawing a .45 caliber pistol and shooting the man. The victim exited the vehicle, running a short distance before falling. Martinez-Lopez walked up to the man and shot him once more, according to a Grant County sheriff's report.
He drove back to the house, walked up to the open front door, and told three men and a woman, "what they did was wrong," according to the report. He opened fire, hitting three men in the house. The surviving witness told investigators Martinez-Lopez was laughing when he opened fire.
"(The witness) said when the shots rang off, he dove to the ground and immediately felt a burning sensation, believing he had been shot," according to the report. "(The witness) said he checked himself out and noticed his shirt and belt buckle had been struck by the bullet."
Another man was struck, leaving a trail of blood down a hallway to a bedroom, where he died from the injury, according to the report. The final victim was found in the living room, and died while being transported by ambulance.
Martinez-Lopez fled the house, getting the vehicle stuck in a field on Road 24.7 Southwest. Leaving the car, he stole a Volkswagen Jetta and drove to Sunnyside, meeting his girlfriend and other friends at a Mexican restaurant, according to the police report.
Police arrested the man shortly after he parked the stolen car next to a Sunnyside police detective. They recovered a Colt .45 caliber pistol belonging to one of the shooter's friends from the trunk of a Honda parked at the restaurant.