All three suspects in custody for March 21 drive-by
MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Police Department and U.S. Marshals service have captured all three suspects in a March 21 drive-by shooting on Loop Drive in Moses Lake. The suspects, an unnamed 14-year-old from Mattawa, Jose Beltran-Rodriguez, 20, and Mathew Valdez, 18, both of Moses Lake, are all now in law enforcement custody.
“The swift identification and arrest of multiple fugitives in this case demonstrates the strength of the U.S. Marshals Service’s proactive manhunt strategy,” said Craig Thayer, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Washington in the announcement. “By leveraging cutting-edge investigative tools, intelligence analysis, and close partnerships with our law enforcement partners, we ensure that violent criminals are swiftly brought to justice.”
More than two dozen law enforcement groups participated in the investigation and search for the suspects after a drive-by shooting in the 500 block of Loop Drive in Moses Lake. MLPD officers had responded to a report of a shooting shortly after 9 p.m. on March 21. Upon arriving at the scene, officers found five shooting victims. One victim, a 14-year-old boy who attended Frontier Middle School, was determined to be deceased at the scene. A 17-year-old male, a 17-year-old female, a 12-year-old boy and Crystal Santoyo, 26, of Moses Lake, all received treatment at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake and were released and are recovering.
Santoyo is the fiancé of MLPD Detective Juan Serrato.
Investigators soon found a vehicle thought to have been used in the shooting and obtained a warrant to seize and search it. Investigation also led to a home on Buell Street in Moses Lake, and a search warrant was issued for that residence. Evidence was collected during the home search, but none of the home’s residents are suspects in the case.
The following Monday, March 21, at about 7:30 p.m., the first suspect, the unnamed minor, was arrested at Kadlec Hospital in Richland, Washington. He was seeking treatment for a non-life-threatening injury believed to be self-inflicted during the shooting, according to MLPD. He was booked into juvenile detention and is facing a charge of Murder in the First Degree.
Thursday, the U.S. Marshals Service named the two remaining suspects, Beltran-Rodriguez and Valdez and issued a $5,000 reward each for information leading to either suspect’s capture.
Early the next morning, Valdez was arrested in Beaverton, Oregon with the help of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
That afternoon at about 2 p.m., U.S. Marshals located an unnamed subject wanted for rendering criminal assistance in the case and stopped them on the Alder Fill near Broadway in Moses Lake, causing a short traffic backup in the area.
MLPD announced the arrest of Beltran-Rodriguez on Sunday at about 6 p.m. after he turned himself into police in Redding, Calif. MLPD Cpt. Jeff Sursely has said detectives will be traveling to Redding to question Beltran-Rodriguez in the near future.
Both Beltran-Rodriguez and Valdez initially faced a charge of murder in the first degree, five charges of assault in the first degree, as well as drive-by shooting and felon in possession of a firearm. However, as the investigation has proceeded, other charges will likely be added to the list, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
“Beltran-Rodriguez, Valdez, and the juvenile suspect are all suspected members of the Norteños, a transnational criminal organization with ties to violent crime, drug trafficking, and firearms offenses across the United States and beyond,” the U.S. Marshals said in a press release.
The March 21 drive-by was one of several recent violent events in and around Grant County. MLPD responded to a separate, unrelated, drive-by March 29. Diego Nunez, 20, of Mattawa, was arrested March 25 in association with a December shooting that resulted in no injuries. Another shooting in Mattawa on Feb. 11 in the 500 block of Third Street remains under investigation, and an August 2024 shooting at a Desert Aire park left one minor dead. Other shootings have occurred in various portions of the county as well and this list is not comprehensive.
Investigating agencies:
The agencies below assisted in the ongoing investigation of a March 21 drive-by in Moses Lake.
MLPD, Washington State Police Crime Lab, U.S. Marshals Service, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, USMS Aviation, USMS Domestic Investigations Branch, USMS District of Oregon, USMS Eastern District of California, USMS Incident Management Team, USMS Northern District of California, USMS Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Taks Force/Organized Crime and Gangs Unit, USMS PSWRTF, USMS Special Operations Group, USMS TOG, USMS TOG Rocky Mountain, Members from USMS Regional Fugitive Task Forces, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Washington, Stockton Police Department, California, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Washington, U.S. Border Patrol, FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon, Washington State Department of Corrections, Washington State Patrol, Yakima PD, Yakima PD, Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, MACC 911.
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