Ephrata man sentenced in connection with Soap Lake shooting

SOAP LAKE — A Ephrata man was sentenced in connection with a shooting in Soap Lake in early August.

Tomas M. Lopez, 24, of Ephrata, pleaded guilty to obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Knodell followed a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Mark Laiminger and defense attorney Susan Oglebay and sentenced Lopez to 90 days in jail, with 15 days suspended for two years. Lopez was initially charged with two counts of first-degree assault, but the charges were amended in a plea agreement between Laiminger and Oglebay.

One of the victims in the Aug. 7 shooting, a 16-year-old boy, told investigators he went with his aunt to a gas station in Soap Lake to buy some food when the car that was in front of them stopped and two men got out. The boy said the two men, one of whom is believed to be Lopez, both had guns and started shooting at him and his aunt. The boy received a gunshot wound to his lower back and was taken to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata for treatment, according to police records.

The boy’s aunt told investigators before the shooting she was driving and spotted a man she knew as “Sappo,” later identified as Lopez, with another man she did not recognize.

“(The woman) explained there had been some problems between Tomas and her husband,” wrote a deputy. “Tomas believes (the woman’s husband) is part of a rival gang and there has been previous incidents between the two.”

She said Lopez and the man he was with stopped in front of her mini-van in a maroon-colored four-door passenger car. Lopez got out of the driver’s seat and started shooting at her and her nephew. The woman was positive one of the two men was Lopez, but could only describe the second male as Hispanic, with short black hair and a black mustache.

Investigators found 19 spent shell casings in a gravel road south of the Fern Street/Main Avenue intersection where the shooting occurred.

“All of the casings were 9-mm; it appeared to be two sets of casings (one set of casings was grey-colored and the second set was brass-colored). The sets were slightly separated from each,” wrote a deputy. “The explanations from both victims described two suspects getting out of a vehicle (the driver and front passenger) and shooting at them. I was able to locate shoeprints and tire marks in the dirt/gravel roadway.”

Lopez later turned himself in and initially denied taking part in the shooting, claiming he was out of town and “could not have been responsible for the shooting and doesn’t even know the victims,” according to police records.

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