Arraignment in Othello manslaughter case delayed
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | March 16, 2021 1:00 AM
RITZVILLE — The arraignment of an Othello man charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of his 4-year-old son has been postponed one week.
Felipe Tapia-Perez, 27, was scheduled to enter a plea in Adams County Superior Court Monday, but the hearing was continued until 10 a.m. March 22, said Haley Roybal, chief deputy clerk for the Adams County Clerk’s Office. Bail remains at $50,000, and Tapia-Perez is still in the Adams County Jail.
Tapia-Perez was charged March 3 in the death of his son, which occurred Feb. 27.
Tapia-Perez allegedly was handling a gun he said he purchased recently when it fired, striking the child in the head. The child died later that day.
Tapia-Perez went to the home of the boy’s mother, Perla Arteaga-Ochoa, to pick up his three children, according to the statement of probable cause filed with the superior court. He was sitting in his car, looking at the weapon, which allegedly was stolen when he bought it, when it went off.
The boy had run outside when he saw his dad drive up and was standing beside the driver’s door. The bullet broke the window and struck the child in the head. Tapia-Perez told Othello police he didn’t know the boy was standing beside the door.
Family and friends of Aretaga-Ochoa started a GoFundMe account to help with funeral and medical expenses. As of Monday it had $5,585. People can donate at www.gofundme.com/f/2ao3fgdh6o?qid=effd27eb6f71f8c7c7412d0f51e62496.
Tapia-Perez told police he was unfamiliar with firearms, according to the probable cause statement.
Othello police detective Jaime Mendoza said he consulted U.S. Border Patrol agents, who said there was no record of Tapia-Perez legally entering the county. Tapia-Perez told police he had come to the United States at five years of age and is not a U.S. citizen.
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