Thread: WA:4 arrested in Kent car-show shootout

4 arrested in Kent car-show shootout

Kent police said four people have been arrested in connection with the July shootout at a car show that left 12 people injured and propelled King County to dedicate $1.4 million to combat what officials have called an erupting "Latino gang war."

By Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporter


Kent police said four people have been arrested in connection with the July shootout at a car show that left 12 people injured and propelled King County to dedicate $1.4 million to combat what officials have called an erupting "Latino gang war."

Two additional suspects have been identified and are being sought, police said at a news conference Thursday morning at the La Plaza shopping center, scene of the July, 23 shooting.

"Law enforcement agencies from throughout the region have dedicated significant resources to identify those involved in this incident and bring them to justice," Kent police Chief Ken Thomas said in a news release. "These arrests are just the first wave in an ongoing effort to dismantle these violent gangs."

Arrested and charged in connection with the shooting are:

• Martin McSmith, 21, of SeaTac; charged with three counts of first-degree assault.

• James Lopez Jr., 17, of Seattle; drive-by shooting. He has been charged as an adult.

• Patrick A. Auble, 30, Tacoma; first-degree rendering criminal assistance.

• Shea C. Auble, 21, of Auburn; first-degree rendering criminal assistance.

The two people being sought on warrants are Ignacio Vasquez-Trevino, 19, of Federal Way; charged with three counts of first-degree assault; and Nicholas Moreno, 21, of Auburn, charged with three counts of first-degree assault.

The King County Prosecutor's Office said all of the suspects are members of the Playboy-Sureños street gang.

The shooting erupted during a lowrider car show that drew 200 to 300 people to the shopping center. Witnesses described a chaotic scene of people fleeing from the gunfire, with some ducking into nearby stores.

The victims ranged in age from 14 to 32, according to police. Some were suspected gang members, while others were merely attending the car show, police said.

Later that night, a 13th person was wounded in what Kent police have determined was a retaliatory shooting at an East Hill apartment complex. Bullet casings found in the La Plaza parking lot matched casings found at the apartment building, police said.

Police later said the shootings stemmed from a war between rival Latino gangs in South King County.

Police said Thursday that the gunfire erupted after a member of a band that was performing at the car show urged the audience to "throw up your flags," a reference to displaying gang hand signs. Once members of the audience saw that rival gang members were present, some opened fire, police said.

In July, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg and representatives of the Sheriff's Office told the a committee of the Metropolitan King County Council that an all-out gang war was erupting in South King County.

Members of the rival gangs have a "fight on sight" mentality, Satterberg said, which raises the potential for violence in public places.

A week later, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced that $1.4 million from a law-enforcement emergency fund was being tapped to combat the growing violence.

The money will be used to buy equipment for the King County sheriff's gang unit and reopen the sheriff's White Center storefront; pay for three King County deputy prosecutors and a paralegal to build cases against gang members; and fund programs aimed at intervening in the lives of young Latino mothers and at-risk youth.

The Sheriff's Office estimates there are 140 criminal street gangs with more than 10,000 members in King County. Although overall crime has decreased in recent years, gang-related crime has increased 165 percent since 2005, the Sheriff's Office says.

Satterberg has called the car-show shooting "a wake-up call to a lot of people."

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com.

Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan and news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report, which includes information from Times archives.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ng16m.html

Police said Thursday that the gunfire erupted after a member of a band that was performing at the car show urged the audience to "throw up your flags," a reference to displaying gang hand signs.

The band should be charged also! Inciting a riot...