Suspect, 1 victim reportedly affiliated with gangs

EPHRATA — Court documents show the weekend shooting of two Moses Lake males was provoked by a bike robbery and an outnumbered fight on the highly-traveled Alder Street Fill.

Argimiro Flores, 21, of Moses Lake, was charged Tuesday in Grant County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree assault in connection with the shooting, according to court documents. Flores told police he was previously involved with a gang.

Judge Evan Sperline set Flores’s bail at $1 million.

Flores allegedly shot Freddy Olivares, 30, of Moses Lake, and Adrian Martinez, 17, also of Moses Lake, on Sunday.

Olivares was airlifted from Samaritan Hospital to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, for treatment. He was shot in the neck and reported to have “life-threatening” injuries Sunday.

Martinez was transported from Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.

Olivares and Martinez are expected to survive, according to Moses Lake Police Department Capt. David Sands.

Michael Mende, of Moses Lake, claimed Martinez and his son Brandon Mende, who was shot and killed in Moses Lake last year, were in the same gang.

Flores was allegedly riding his bicycle with another man near a downtown bank, located at 103 E. Third Ave., in Moses Lake, on Sunday.

Flores told investigators a silver Chrysler 300, driven by Olivares, started to follow him and his friend.

The people inside the vehicle were yelling gang terms at Flores and his friend, according to police records. Flores said he did not know the occupants of the vehicle.

The car allegedly followed Flores onto the Alder Street Fill and made a U-turn at Knolls Vista Drive, and started to drive south on Alder Street.

The car reportedly stopped in the outside lane, and Olivares, Martinez and another man got out of the car and approached Flores and his friend.

Flores reportedly rode to the center of the road, while the three occupants of the vehicle beat his friend.

Olivares allegedly took Flores’ friend’s bicycle and placed it in the trunk of the car. Flores then pulled a .380 caliber pistol out of his backpack and fired two rounds at Olivares, striking him once in the neck.

“He (Flores) advised he overreacts and begins to fill with rage inside. He had two guns in his backpack that the officers took and he didn’t have the intent to hurt anyone. He knew he had to take action,” reads the police report.

Flores told police he had the guns to protect his family.

Flores then went around the back of the Chrysler, to where Martinez was taking cover, and emptied the clip at him. Martinez was hit in the torso, hip and leg.

Flores then reportedly took his friend’s bike out of the trunk of the car and fled the area.

With the help of a citizen who followed Flores, police arrested him in the 200 block of Earl Road. The other man was not found by police.

He said it was not his intent to kill anyone, he only wanted to teach them a lesson.

If he had it to do over, he would have left the area, he said in court documents. Flores said he was mad, “sick of dealing with all of this kind of stuff all his life and being pushed around.”

Court documents indicate Flores and his friend were outnumbered in the fight.

Flores is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 24.

Editor's note: Corrected Feb. 18 to read that "Olivares, Martinez and another man got out of the car and approached Flores and his friend." An earlier version reported Flores was in the car.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com. Lynne Lynch can be reached at editor@columbiabasinherald.com.