Drug dealer sentenced to 12 years in killing

EPHRATA - Gilberto Valdovinos Medina Jr., 24, of Moses Lake, pled guilty Tuesday to first-degree manslaughter in Grant County Superior Court and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Valdovinos Medina entered an Alford plea. This means the defendant isn't admitting to the crime, but believes he or she would be found guilty by a jury.

Valdovinos Medina was originally charged with first-degree murder for killing Joaquin O. Serrano, 23, a rival heroin dealer in Moses Lake in 2011. Serrano reportedly started selling drugs at a lower price than Valdovinos Medina.

The charge was lowered to first-degree manslaughter and a plea agreement was arranged because of issues with the prosecution's evidence.

"This is a tough call, but it's a call that you have to make sometimes," Grant County Prosecutor Angus Lee said. "I just don't believe it's in the best interests of the community to turn down what is a 12-year plea deal in light of the limited, persuasive admissible evidence."

Lee said the prosecution had a photograph of Valdovinos Medina holding the alleged murder weapon, but that photo wasn't admissible in court. Lee also stated the prosecution was unable to obtain DNA, fingerprints, murder weapon or a confession.

The prosecution would've had to rely heavily on three witnesses considered flawed.

Prosecutors were not willing to risk the jury finding Valdovinos Medina not guilty due to the drug and criminal background of the key witnesses.

Among the three witnesses, only one was an eye witness.

Valdovinos Medina's defense attorneys outlined several inconsistencies in the police investigation and the prosecution's evidence and argued for the mid to low range of the sentence.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline decided to side with the prosecution's recommendation of 12 years because of two previous adult convictions and four juvenile convictions.

Sperline advised the defendant that because manslaughter is defined in Washington state as a most serious offense it will count as one "strike" on his record. If an offender receives three "strikes" than he or she is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.

According to a previous Columbia Basin Herald article, Valdovinos Medina was reportedly driven to Serrano's home where he shot Serrano.

Grant County Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of shots fired near Serrano's residence at 3 a.m., but didn't find anything.

Serrano was found the next afternoon by police after a neighbor reported that he wasn't answering his door and the house was shot.

Before Valdovinos Medina was taken back to Grant County Jail, he turned around to face the courtroom and apologized to the family members of the victim.