Man sentenced for attempting to kill ailing uncle, alcohol theft

EPHRATA — A Moses Lake man was sentenced for attempting to suffocate his ailing uncle and assaulting a man and stealing his alcohol.

Daniel Arredondo, 43, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, third-degree assault and third-degree theft. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz followed a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Carole Highland and defense attorney Robert Kentner and sentenced Arredondo to 13 months in prison. Arredondo was initially charged with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree robbery. The charges were amended in a plea agreement between Highland and Kentner.

Arredondo’s sentence stems from two separate incidents. The first of these occurred in late July, when the Moses Lake Police Department responded to a report of an assault in the 200 block of East Third Avenue. Police contacted the male victim at the scene, who had received a bloody nose, a lump on the top of his head and a fractured back during the assault, according to police records.

The victim was drinking with some other people in a park near the Moses Lake Public Library when he was jumped by three people. The victim reported a six-pack of beer, a bottle of vodka and $20 were stolen from him. A suspect punched him in the face and repeatedly kicked him when he was on the ground. Arredondo was found and detained at the library park. He denied assaulting anyone, but had the same type of beer the victim reported had stolen from him. In addition, Arredondo had blood on his shirt, shorts and arms.

The second incident occurred in December, when the MLPD received a report of an assault at Columbia Crest Center. Police were told that Arredondo had been seen suffocating one of the residents at the care facility. A employee said when she went into the room of a 68-year-old male patient she saw Arredondo, who is the victim’s nephew, standing on the left side of his uncle’s bed with his right hand pushing down over his uncle’s nose and mouth, according to police records.

Arredondo denied any wrongdoing and stated he was adjusting his uncle’s pillow when the employee came in. He admitted to drinking two beers while he was at the care facility. Police did not find any signs of petechial hemorrhaging, which would have indicated strangulation or suffocation, on the victim’s eyes or lips. They found a cup of beer in the room that was half full.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.