Moses Lake man reaches plea deal in tavern homicide

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man who tampered with a witness after a fatal June shooting outside of a Moses Lake bar was sentenced on Monday.

Jose Rodriguez, 25, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court on Monday to tampering with a witness. Following a joint recommendation between Chief Deputy Prosecutor Alan White and defense attorney Susan Oglebay, Judge John Antosz sentenced Rodriguez to 30 days in jail, with credit for time served and 11 days converted to 88 hours of community service.

Rodriguez was initially charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance and another count of tampering with a witness, but the charges were dismissed in a plea agreement.

Just after midnight on June 5, Rodriguez got into a fight with Loren Meade, of Moses Lake, inside Neppel’s Dockside Pub in Moses Lake. Rodriguez’ friend Ismael Ortiz, of Moses Lake, who is currently charged with first-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the incident, reportedly punched Meade, which lead to all three men getting tossed from the bar.

After the fight and as Ortiz, Rodriguez and Meade were getting thrown out of the pub, Robert Cook, 68, of Moses Lake, and his female friend left Neppel’s and hopped into Cook’s truck, which was parked near the bar’s entrance. The woman Cook was with later told police she heard five loud “pops” come from behind Cook’s truck.

The woman, believing the noise was from someone lighting off fireworks, claims she turned around and saw a four-door passenger car pull up alongside Cook’s truck and pass them by. Meade was allegedly in the passenger seat of the car and the woman says she witnessed him pull out a handgun and point it in the direction of the Ash Street/West Broadway Avenue intersection.

At that time, Cook was fatally struck in the back of the head by a bullet. A witness reported seeing Ortiz fire numerous shots in the direction of Cook’s truck while standing in the Ash Street/West Broadway Avenue intersection.

Ortiz and Rodriguez ran from the area on foot and started heading toward the Alder Street fill. Two fishermen reported hearing the gunshots and seeing two men run from where the shots were fired and go across the grass toward the water near the fill.

Ortiz and Rodriguez allegedly approached the fishermen and told them they needed their fishing poles. The suspects reportedly told the men to tell police they had been fishing with them. The two suspects were eventually tracked down and taken into custody.

Numerous people who were at Neppel’s confirmed Ortiz and Rodriguez had been in a fight before the shooting. The description of the clothes the shooter was wearing are said to match what Ortiz was wearing when he was arrested. Meade was arrested a few days later in Moses Lake on June 13. Ortiz' trial date is set for June 7.