Justice served: The cases that came to our courts in 2016
Richard Byrd/Columbia Basin Herald A mistrial was declared in the case of Chad Bennett, who is accused of murdering his landlord in Ephrata in 2014.
Richard Byrd/Columbia Basin Herald Jason Williams was sentenced to 40 years in prison for murdering Christian Guerra outside of a Moses Lake fast food restaurant in 2015.
MOSES LAKE — 2016 was a big year for Grant County Prosecutor Garth Dano and his office, as his team of prosecutors was able to obtain convictions in two high profile murder cases. Another high profile murder trial resulted in a mistrial declaration.
In April a jury found Jose Aguilar Aguilar, 38, Desert Aire, guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Carmelita Lopez Santos, 42, of Yakima, in Mattawa in 2012. In October Lopez Santos’ family found closure when Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz sentenced Aguilar Aguilar to just over 39 years behind prison bars.
In September prosecutors obtained another high profile conviction, when a jury found Jason Williams, 39, of Moses Lake, guilty of shooting and killing 22-year-old Christian Guerra outside of the Moses Lake Jack in the Box in January 2015. Less than two months later Williams was sentenced to 40 years in prison by Grant County Superior Court Judge David Estudillo.
While prosecutors were able to obtain convictions in the Aguilar Aguilar and Williams cases, one high profile murder case resulted in a mistrial declaration after a jury was not able to reach a unanimous verdict. Prosecutors believe Chad Bennett, 27, of Ephrata, murdered his 82-year-old landlord, Lucille Moore, in September 2014 after she told him she was going to evict him and his family from her rental property. A jury was not unanimously convinced and a mistrial was declared. The case is set to be re-tried in early 2017.