Ortiz, Rodriguez enter not guilty pleas

EPHRATA — The two Moses Lake men who were arrested and charged for their alleged roles a shooting that left a bystander dead in Moses Lake entered not guilty pleas.

Ismael Ortiz Jr., 25, of Moses Lake, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the June 5 shooting death of Robert Cook, 68, of Moses Lake. A second man, Jose Rodriguez, 25, of Moses Lake, pleaded not guilty to two counts of tampering with a witness and first-degree rendering criminal assistance. Ortiz' bail was set at $1 million and Rodriguez' bail was set at $100,000.

The charges against both of the men stem from an incident just after midnight on June 5 at Neppel’s Dockside Pub in Moses Lake, when a fight broke out between Rodriguez and another unidentified man. Ortiz joined in the fight and threw a couple of punches at the unidentified man, which resulted in all three men getting tossed out of the bar, according to police records.

After the fight and during the time the three men were being thrown out of Neppel’s, Cook and his female friend decided to leave the bar and got into Cook’s truck that was parked to the west of the bar’s entrance. As they drove away, Cook’s friend reported hearing five loud “pops” come from behind the truck. She thought the sound was from fireworks and turned around to see who was lighting them and reported seeing a white or cream-colored four-door passenger car pull up alongside Cook’s truck and pass them.

The unidentified man who was allegedly involved in the bar fight with Ramirez and Ortiz was reportedly riding in the passenger seat. He allegedly pulled out a “large black handgun” and pointed it in the direction of the Ash Street/West Broadway Avenue intersection.

Cook’s friend said at that time Cook was struck in the back of the head by a bullet. A witness to the shooting reported seeing a large-framed Hispanic man, alleged to be Ortiz, fire numerous shots while standing at the Ash Street/Broadway Avenue intersection.

Ortiz fled the scene on foot with Rodriguez after firing the shots and reportedly started heading in the direction of the Alder Street fill. Two men who were fishing in the area reported hearing the gunfire and witnessing two people run from the area where the shots were fired and go across the grass toward the water near the fill. One of the two men allegedly got into the water, but got back out and started to move toward a dock on the lake near Neppel Park.

Ortiz and Rodriguez allegedly told the fishermen they needed their fishing poles and told them to tell police they had been with them fishing for the past two hours.

On Monday Rodriguez’ attorney, Susan Oglebay, presented a motion to the court to reduce her client’s bail from the $100,000 that it was set at by Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz last week. Oglebay noted one of the primary reasons Rodriguez’s bail was set so high is that the court was concerned that the gun that was used in the shooting was not found and Rodriguez might interfere with the search for the weapon. She said there is no evidence, or indicators from his past, to suggest that Rodriguez would search for the gun and destroy it or further hide it from authorities, if he were to post bond.

“There is nothing that I am aware of, being devoid of all the testimony, that indicates that he (Rodriguez) ever had the gun, that he know where the gun is, except that these gentlemen (Rodriguez and Ortiz) were together at one point and then together at another point,” Oglebay stated.

Deputy Prosecutor Kevin McCrea stated in court on Monday that the gun is still missing, with divers scheduled to search the lake for the weapon this week.

“I would point out that according to the (police) report, if he (Rodriguez) wasn’t the individual that went into the lake, he was with the individual that went into the lake, when he went into the lake. ” McCrea said. “So I would ask that bail remain and even if it doesn’t, I would ask that he not be allowed anywhere near the Alder (Street) fill.”

Antosz decided to leave Rodriguez’s bail at $100,000. The issued will be further discussed next week, with Antosz stating he will consider reducing the bail pending the outcome of the search for the gun.

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