Second of three suspects arrested in Moses Lake drive-by case
Mathew Valdez, 18, of Moses Lake has been arrested after fleeing to Oregon. Valdez is one of three known suspects in the investigation of a drive-by shooting that occurred March 21.
COURTESY PHOTO/MLPD
Jose Beltran-Rodriguez is still at large and is wanted as a suspect in the drive-by shooting death of a 14-year-old Moses Lake boy. Four others were victims of the shooting and sustained injuries during the attack. One of the suspects, also a 14-year-old boy, was also accidentally shot during the incident.
BEAVERTON, Ore. — The Moses Lake Police Department announced the arrest of Mathew Valdez, 18, or Moses Lake in Beaverton, Ore., with the assistance of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Valdez is the second arrest in the investigation with a third suspect, Jose Beltran-Rodriguez, remaining at large as of Saturday afternoon.
Valdez was arrested in connection with the March 21 drive-by shooting that happened on Loop Drive in Moses Lake, wherein a 14-year-old Frontier Middle School student was killed and four others were injured, including the 26-year-old fiancé of MLPD Detective Juan Serrato. Those who sustained injuries were taken to Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake and treated and were last reported in stable condition and recovering.
Another suspect, a 14-year-old Mattawa boy, was arrested Tuesday in the Tri-Cities after seeking treatment for an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound believed to have occurred during the shooting incident.
A vehicle and a Moses Lake home were searched for evidence and the U.S. Marshals, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and other agencies are assisting in the investigation.
Anyone with information about the location of the remaining at-large suspect, Jose Beltran-Rodriguez, is asked to call the U.S. Marshals tip line at 1-800-336-0102 or visit www.usmarshals.gov/tips. The Marshals are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the remaining suspect.
MLPD later announced that U.S. Marshals had located another subject in the investigation for rendering criminal assistance and conducted a high-risk stop on the subject’s vehicle on the Alder Fill near Broadway Avenue, which caused a traffic backup at around 2 p.m. Friday. Three subjects were detained for questioning during that stop.
Jose Beltran-Rodriguez is still at large and is wanted as a suspect in the drive-by shooting death of a 14-year-old Moses Lake boy. Four others were victims of the shooting and sustained injuries during the attack. One of the suspects, also a 14-year-old boy, was also accidentally shot during the incident.