Sunnyside man accused of shooting girlfriend | Crime and courts

A Sunnyside man is accused of shooting his girlfriend and then fleeing police Tuesday morning.

A woman told Grandview police that she told her boyfriend, Luis Enrique Mendoza-Zamora, 22, on Monday that she wanted to take a break in their relationship. He later asked her to follow him to his house, but after she drove off, the woman changed her mind and drove back to her home on Nicka Road, according to an affidavit.

He called her and she said she was going home. He said, “That’s fine,” the affidavit states. She woke up after hearing gunshots outside after midnight, and other witnesses said they saw a white pickup truck leaving the area after the shots were fired, the affidavit said.

At about 2:15 a.m., the witness said the truck returned and officers contacted Mendoza-Zamora, but there was no indication that shots had been fired in the area, the affidavit said.

Police received another shooting call and the woman said her vehicle was struck, the affidavit states, while another witness said the white truck was in the area at the same time, the affidavit states Explanation.

The woman said she was told Mendoza-Zamora was in the parking lot, and when Mendoza-Zamora stopped, she went to her car to get things out and told her in Spanish, “Just be careful,” before driving off , and that was when she heard the shots, the affidavit says.

Police found three bullet holes in the woman's car and a spent bullet casing and a folded $10 bill containing a white powder in the area.

Police issued a bulletin to be on the lookout for Mendoza-Zamora and his truck, and at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sunnyside police attempted to stop the truck, which drove off and stopped in the 300 block of Columbia Avenue. Mendoza-Zamora then walked toward a house, the affidavit says, and only stopped after police repeatedly asked her to do so.

He was booked into the Yakima County Jail on suspicion of drive-by shooting, first-degree assault, possession of a firearm as a non-citizen, evading and obstructing police.

During a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Yakima County Superior Court, Yakima County Assistant Prosecutor Richard Fisher asked for bail to be set at $250,000.

“It's just a miracle that the victim in this case is even alive at this point,” Fisher said.

Defense attorney Melissa Derry argued for $30,000 bail for the shooting case and $5,000 to $7,000 bail for the non-shooting case, which were considered two separate ones Court documents were submitted. She noted that the affidavit said Mendoza-Zamora did not run from officers when he got out of the truck and that his slow response to officers' commands may have been due to a language barrier.

Judge Sonia Rodriguez True set bail at $50,000 for both cases, citing concerns about the victim's safety. She also issued a no-contact order prohibiting Mendoza-Zamora from having any contact with her until the case is resolved.