Seattle man sentenced in Soap Lake drive-by

EPHRATA — A Seattle man who was involved in a January drive-by-shooting in Soap Lake was sentenced on Monday.

Julian Latimer, 26, of Seattle, entered an In Re Barr plea in Grant County Superior Court to collection of unlawful debt. The In Re Barr plea indicates Latimer is not admitting he is guilty of the crime he is pleading to and there is no factual basis for the charge itself, but he believes there is a substantial risk of being convicted of the crimes he was initially charged with if the case were to proceed to trial.

Following a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Kevin McCrae and defense attorney N. Smith Hagopian, Judge John Antosz sentenced Latimer to 72 days in jail, with credit for 72 days served.

Latimer was initially charged with first-degree assault and drive-by-shooting, but the charges were amended in a plea agreement between McCrae and Hagopian. On Jan. 12 the Grant County Sheriff’s Office received words of shots fired on Adrian Avenue Northwast, in the Lakeview area. Deputies were advised two males, Latimer and Cristian Bustos, 21, of Soap Lake, had fired shots at a Chevrolet Suburban from Latimer’s Ford Escape.

The victims claimed they did not know why the suspects started chasing them and fired shots at their SUV on Road 19 Northwest, then again on Adrian Avenue Northwest. Latimer’s Escape was later found unoccupied in the 20400 block of Linden Avenue Northwest.

The Moses Lake Regional Tactical Team responded to the scene and Latimer later left a residence on Linden Avenue, but was ultimately released from police custody due to a lack of evidence. Deputies learned Bustos had been picked up from the residence and taken to Ephrata before authorities arrived.

Video surveillance of the alleged incident reportedly shows the first altercation between the suspects and victims at the Road 19 Northwest/state Route 28 intersection. Bustos can allegedly be seen putting his hands out of the Escape with “something black in color” in his hands after a passenger in the Suburban got out of the SUV and made gestures toward the Escape.

During the incident on Adrian Avenue, Bustos can allegedly be seen removing half of his body out of the passenger side window and aim an object toward the Suburban. Deputies reportedly located a spent .40-caliber shell casing in the Escape and bullet fragments in one of the Suburban’s tires.

Bustos, who remains charged with first-degree assault and drive-by-shooting, reportedly has a lengthy history with the victims, including one incident in which he allegedly fired shots at their residence.