Las Vegas attempted murder suspect arrested in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — A Las Vegas man was arrested and booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder after he was arrested at a Moses Lake business at about 7 p.m. Tuesday. 

Savanh Singvongsa, 19, and two companions were arrested in the drive-thru of the Moses Lake McDonald’s, 825 N. Stratford Road, at about 7 p.m., according to releases from the Moses Lake Police Department and the Othello Police Department.  

As of Tuesday, Singvongsa is being held on $75,000 bail as a fugitive from justice and on out-of-state warrants, according to Grant County Jail records. 

Luis Leyton, 28, Moses Lake, and Jeremiah Lomeli, 19, Las Vegas, were arrested on firearms violations, according to the OPD press release.  

Las Vegas officers contacted OPD on Oct. 31, saying they had information that Singvongsa might be in the Othello-Moses Lake area. He was being sought for two counts of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm and multiple counts of discharging a firearm at a person, the OPD release said. 

Officers from the Othello PD, Moses Lake PD, the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team and the Spokane office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked on the case, said MLPD Captain Jeff Sursely. 

“(Law enforcement officers) launched a coordinated surveillance and apprehension operation focused on a known criminal street gang residence in the Moses Lake area,” the OPD release said. 

Singvongsa allegedly has ties to a gang, and OPD Detective Steven Perez said gang members often tap into networks they’ve built among their associates when they need a place to go, among other things. 

“Singvongsa had acquaintances in our region from the same criminal street gang. Oftentimes, criminal street gang members will relocate to avoid retaliation from rival gangs, to evade capture by police, or to expand their criminal networks in a new area,” Perez wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald.   

Many gangs, including the one Singvongsa is allegedly affiliated with, have a common name, with slightly different names for regional subsets.  

“Criminal street gang members often meet in jail or prison, through mutual friends or through criminal enterprise. Criminal street gang members also meet on non-criminal terms, such as at work or after meeting one another after living in the same area. When a person leaves an area, those people still remain friends or acquaintances, especially with the presence of social media,” Perez said.  

Officers found a car, a 2011 Mazda, associated with Singvongsa. He was arrested without incident. 

Othello PD Chief Dave Rehaume said the OPD and MLPD have worked together a lot. 

“The two agencies work very well together, especially (MLPD) Street Crimes Unit and our detectives,” Rehaume said. “It’s just a team effort.”