Two arrested, charged with murder in May shooting

Key points: 

A total of four men have been arrested, two recently, in association with the death of Juan Pablo Acosta on May 28.

Charges include first-degree murder, second-degree murder and drive-by shooting, depending on the suspect. 

The case will be heard in Grant County Superior Court.

SCHWANA — An East Wenatchee man and a Mattawa man have been booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of a man near Schwana on May 28. 

Isaac Almeida-Chittim, 19, East Wenatchee, and Gilberto Sanchez Medina, 19, Mattawa, were booked on suspicion of drive-by shooting in addition to the first-degree murder charge. They are suspected of killing Juan Pablo Acosta, 44, who was found dead in his vehicle at about 10 p.m. that May evening. 

Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, said the suspects are believed to have gang affiliations, but detectives are still trying to determine a motive. 

“From what we gather, (Acosta) did not know them,” Foreman said.  

Acosta did not have gang affiliations, he said.  

Angel Luis Oliveras, 23, was arrested the night of the killing as he returned to his residence in Ephrata. Oliveras was booked on suspicion of second-degree murder and drive-by shooting. 

Security cameras in Schwana identified a suspect vehicle leaving the scene, a white Chrysler 300. It was identified as the car Oliveras was driving when he was arrested, according to a statement of probable cause filed by GCSO in Grant County Superior Court. 

Acosta called a friend to tell her he was being chased by what he referred to as “gangsters,” the probable cause statement said. The investigation cites a variety of evidence in the Chrysler 300 reportedly driven by the suspects. Multiple firearms have been seized as evidence as well. 

The friend became alarmed and went looking for Acosta, the statement said, finding his car on Road T.5 SW south of Lower Crab Creek Road. Acosta’s car had been hit several times with bullets and he was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Witnesses in the area heard gunshots, according to court records, and saw a white Chrysler 300 leaving the scene. The Chrysler was identified as the car seen at a Schwana business at the time Acosta drove by in his car. The occupants of that car apparently started following Acosta, it said. 

Sanchez is being held on $1 million bail, while bail was denied for Oliveras and Almeida-Chittim.  

    A suspect vehicle was identified with the aid of security camera images from Schwana.