Judge finds Ismael Ortiz not guilty of murder

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man who was on trial for the death of a bystander outside of a Moses Lake bar almost two years ago was acquitted on Monday.

Judge John Knodell found 27-year-old Ismael Ortiz not guilty of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the June 5, 2016 death of 68-year-old Robert Cook. Ortiz was also found not guilty on an alternative charge of manslaughter. The state’s case was Ortiz fired the shot that fatally struck Cook in the back of the head, but the judge found the prosecution was not able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case against Ortiz relates to a bar fight that pitted Ortiz and his friend, Jose Rodriguez, against a man named Loren Meade. Rodriguez and Meade first became involved in an altercation inside Neppel’s Dockside Pub, since renamed Midway Pub and under new ownership, and Ortiz later joined in. The fight resulted in the three men getting tossed from the bar.

Trial testimony indicates after he was tossed from the bar Meade returned to his car and retrieved a gun. Meade testified to firing a .380 Ruger from outside the car at a nearby vehicle and then getting into the driver’s seat of his vehicle.

“Mr. Meade, with a friend in the passenger seat, then drove west on Broadway (Avenue) and turned onto Beech (Street). At that point Mr. Meade claims he heard more shots,” wrote Knodell.

At about the same time Cook and his female companion left the bar in Cook’s truck and started heading west on Broadway Avenue. It was then that Cook was fatally hit by a bullet, which Cook’s friend testified she believes was fired from Meade’s vehicle. The state alleged it was Ortiz who fired the fatal shot in retaliation against a fleeing Meade. Both Ortiz and Rodriguez fled the area where the shots were fired and were later arrested after they contacted a pair of fisherman and Rodriguez attempted to get the fishermen to tell police they were fishing with them.

“The state argues that its case, while circumstantial, proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr. Ortiz was the man who fired the shot that killed Mr. Cook. It points to the following: Mr. Ortiz and his friend Mr. Rodriguez had a motive to fire at Mr. Loren Meade,” Knodell writes.

During the bench trial the state was only able to offer one witness who could identify the shooter who opened fired just outside of Neppel’s and presumably shot Cook as he was driving down Broadway Avenue.

The witness testified to only seeing the shooter for a few seconds, but he said he could see the man was light skinned, Hispanic and wearing a white T-shirt with a gray insignia and jeans, had a goatee and weighed between 150 and 175 pounds. Knodell notes the witness admitted his view could have been obstructed due to the commotion in the area.

One of the problems with the testimony is that when Ortiz was arrested after the shooting he weighed anywhere from 100-110 pounds more than the shooter the witness saw. Knodell states the witness’ description of the shirt immediately after the shooting was vague and he was not able to pick Ortiz, who was still wearing the shirt, out of a photo lineup shortly after the shooting took place. The judge also states the prosecution’s method of having the witness identify the shirt during the trial, 19 months after the shooting, was “highly suggestive.”

“The state argument runs as follows: The shirt Mr. Rodriguez was wearing shortly before his arrest had no pattern on it. The shirt Mr. Ortiz was wearing when he was arrested did. Only Mr. Ortiz was in the area of the shots fired with a T-shirt bearing a pattern. Mr. Ortiz must, therefore, be the shooter,” the judge summarized.

Knodell asserts the witness’ memory of the shooter was “likely” a mixture of the characteristics of at least two people who ran by him, as there was a few people who can be seen in video surveillance running in the area where police recovered shell casings. The judge points out the witness testified the shooter was right-handed, but Knodell insists that during Ortiz’ bench trial the defendant took notes and wrote with his left hand. Police are yet to find the weapon that was used to shoot Cook.

“Even if Mr. Ortiz had been wearing the shirt and was in the vicinity of the shooting, it is apparent that Mr. Rodriguez was also in the area at that time, had the same motive to shoot and, like Mr. Ortiz, fled the scene. Mr. Rodriguez could very well be right-handed and attempted to conceal what he had been wearing at the time of the shooting.”

“Mr. Rodriguez exhibited evidence of a guilty state of mind after the shooting. It was he who attempted to induce the two fishermen to give a false alibi.”

Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness and was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for time served. Eleven of the days were converted to 88 hours of community service. In his ruling Knodell states he did not find beyond a reasonable doubt that Ortiz fired the fatal shot or that he committed an act “which proximately caused Mr. Cook’s death,” which would have constituted manslaughter.

“Here there are two intermediate actors between Mr. Ortiz and Mr. Cook: Mr. Meade and an unknown shooter whom the state presumes fired in reaction to Mr. Meade. While Mr. Ortiz may have ‘interacted’ with Mr. Meade by fighting with him in Neppel’s, there is no evidence about how Mr. Ortiz may have may have interacted with some unknown third party shooter. Even if we assume Mr. Rodriguez was the person who fired and that he fired in response to Mr. Meade’s attack upon him, there is no evidence that Mr. Ortiz induced or instigated his doing so.”

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