Aguilar Aguilar sentencing for murder delayed

EPHRATA — The sentencing for a Desert Aire man who was found guilty of murdering a woman was delayed.

A Grant County jury previously found Jose Aguilar Aguilar, 38, of Desert Aire, guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, second-degree assault and intimidating a witness in mid-April following a three-and-a-half week trial and about a day and a half of deliberations. The jury found that Aguilar Aguilar used a firearm during two of the crimes when he killed Carmelita Lopez Santos, 42, of Yakima. He was in a relationship with Lopez Santos.

Aguilar Aguilar was set to be sentenced on Tuesday, but the state filed a motion to continue sentencing on the basis of post-trial motions filed by Aguilar Aguilar’s attorney, David Bustamante, to dismiss the intimidating a witness charge and the aggravating factors associated with the charges, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Alan White said. White explained the state needs more time to respond to Bustamante’s motion to dismiss the intimidating a witness charge. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz found there was good cause to continue the sentencing and set a pre-sentence hearing on June 17 for the court to hear arguments from the state and defense.

“I do acknowledge that there is good cause to continue sentencing,” Bustamante stated in court on Tuesday. “We definitely don’t want to have family members here while we are arguing these legal motions.”

Aguilar Aguilar was taken into custody by deputies with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 29, 2012 at a laundromat in Mattawa following the discovery of Lopez Santos’ body by a hunter near the Buckshot Wildlife Access area on Oct. 16. Investigators discovered four 9mm shell casings and a bullet jacket near the location where the victim’s body was found.

A search of Aguilar Aguilar’s home turned up a 9mm handgun in his bedroom, along with a pair of cowboy boots and a purse in a detached garage at the residence. Both of the items had blood stains on them, with investigators able to match the purse to a purse Lopez Santos was seen with. During opening statements in the trial, Grant County Prosecuting Attorney Garth Dano told the jury the purse, which contained items indicating it belonged to the victim, and the pair of cowboy boots, contained DNA that came back as a positive match to Lopez Santos.

Lopez Santos was first reported missing from the Yakima area on Oct. 15 after telling her family members she was going to the Tri-Cities with a friend. When Aguilar Aguilar was taken into custody on Oct. 29, 2012, Lopez Santos’ cellphone was recovered in his vehicle. Prosecutors were able to convince the jury that Aguilar Aguilar kept the phone and spoke with Lopez Santos’ family members and friends in a series of calls.

Dano stated 13 calls were placed from the victim’s phone to members of her family between Oct. 16-18, 13 calls were made to her co-worker between Oct. 16-28, and four calls were made to her fiancée between Oct. 16-19. During the calls Aguilar Aguilar told some of the people that Lopez Santos went to Mexico with her boyfriend and threatened to kill one of her coworkers if they didn’t mind their own business. He claimed to have found the phone in a Walmart parking lot and stated he had no idea who Lopez Santos was during a couple of the calls.

When it comes to the intimidating a witness charge, Dano previously explained that evidence shows that Aguilar Aguilar told his roommate he shot Lopez Santos, later threatened the man and told him he was going to kill him.

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