Moses Lake man arrested in connection with November murder

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man has been apprehended in California by the U.S. Marshal’s Service in connection with a November 2023 murder in Montlake Park. 

Christopher Valle-Maciel, 18, was arrested in Riverside County, Calif., on Tuesday, according to a press release from the Marshal Service. He was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, first-degree drive-by shooting and two counts of first-degree assault.  

“Our detectives are in contact with the Marshal Service and are in the process of extraditing Valle-Maciel back to Grant County,” wrote Moses Lake Police Department Cpt. Jeff Sursely, in a press release.  

Valle-Maciel was sought in connection with the death of Armando Benavidez, 22, Moses Lake. Benavidez was found dead outside his vehicle in the 400 block of West Linden Street, according to earlier reports in the Columbia Basin Herald.  

Three people were found with gunshot wounds at the scene; one had to be airlifted to an out-of-area hospital for care.  

“(The incident) appeared to be a gang-related shooting,” the Marshal’s Service press release said.