Moses Lake shooting suspect claims self-defense

EPHRATA — Court records indicate a Moses Lake man allegedly shot and killed a Ephrata man because he was breaking into his home.

Jesse James, 23, of Moses Lake, was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence in connection with the shooting death of Thomas Hernandez, 21, of Ephrata. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz set James’ bail at $100,000. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Alan White explained the state hasn’t officially filed charges against James and he is being held for investigative purposes, with possible charges to be added on pending the outcome of the investigation into Hernandez’s death.

“We did not file any charges against Mr. James,” White said. “If we don’t file charges that $100,000 bail goes out the window and he would be released. If we did file charges, he would be brought before the court the next judicial day and in theory he and his attorney could make an argument to lower the bond.”

James' arrest stems from an incident late Monday night, when MACC Dispatch received a call from a woman stating a shooting occurred at her home in the 8700 block of Neppel Road Northeast. During the woman’s contact with MACC she reportedly advised that her son, James, had shot an unknown man inside the house, according to police records.

Deputies arrived at the scene and located Hernandez, who had received a gunshot wound to his upper body and died from the wound. The woman who contacted 911 stated she was in her bedroom when she heard two loud noises, one of which she thought was caused by someone at the front door. The woman said she thought the second noise was a gunshot and stated she did not hear any commotion prior to the two loud noises. She allegedly went into her living room to find Hernandez laying on the floor and her son standing in the kitchen/living room area. She said she “may have” seen a gun sitting on the kitchen table, but she wasn’t positive.

A deputy stated the woman’s memory was “very unclear” and he had the impression that she was withholding information.

Another man in the residence when deputies arrived at the scene, who stated he resides at the house during the week, said he went to sleep and was woken up by a loud noise. He allegedly went into the living room area and found Hernandez laying on the ground with a gunshot wound. He said he asked James what happened and James responded by saying, “he was gonna rob us” and “he kicked my door in,” according to police records.

James initially told deputies he went to the Neppel Road residence with Hernandez and another man to gather some property he was going to sell Hernandez. He later changed his story, stating the other person he said was with wasn’t a real person and only Hernandez went with him to the residence. He said he had about $1,500 worth of items he wanted to sell, but only expected to get a couple hundred dollars for them.

James said he walked to the rear of the Neppel Road residence to a sliding glass door and Hernandez was walking about a foot behind him.

“Before reaching the sliding door, Jesse turned around and saw that Hernandez had a purple, blue, or greenish colored pocket knife in his hand and was holding it by his side,” wrote a deputy.

The sliding glass door was locked and James told Hernandez to wait outside and he went to the front of the house and entered the house, locking the deadbolt behind him as he entered. James said he showed Hernandez a TV through the glass door, which Hernandez allegedly offered $500 for. Hernandez reportedly stated he didn’t have any money with him and became angry when James told him to come back the next day to buy the items, according to police records.

To diffuse the situation, James allegedly went to his bedroom to retrieve a pair of speakers to sell Hernandez and told deputies he heard a loud noise that sounded like the front door of the house was being kicked in.

“Jesse immediately grabbed the pistol and ran out of the bedroom, where he encountered Hernandez in the dining room area. Jesse described that he fired his pistol at least four times, but he believed he missed some shots,” wrote a deputy. “Jesse stated that after the shooting, he tossed the pistol onto or near a couch that was next to where Hernandez was laying on the floor.”

James claimed that earlier in the day on Monday Hernandez became angry with him after plans they had fell through and Hernandez attempted to take a gun that was allegedly tucked into his, James', waistband. James reportedly described the pistol he used to shoot Hernandez as a nickel plated 9mm. Deputies later served a search warrant at the residence and reportedly located unfired 9mm bullets, pistol magazines, broken pistol magazine springs, a fired slug and the blue colored pocket knife James stated Hernandez was carrying.

Deputies reportedly could not find a 9mm pistol or expended cartridge casings inside the residence. James stated he didn’t know where the pistol was and said he “may have hidden it” and he would have taken the shell casings as well, because “that’s what you do when something like this happens,” according to police records.

“Jesse implied that if we (deputies) would put it on paper that he would be released from custody, he would show or tell us where the gun was located. He also stated that he knew how this worked and then we would just have a murder weapon to charge him with,” wrote a deputy.

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