Four arrested in burglary case
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 3 months AGO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | May 14, 2024 7:24 PM
MOSES LAKE — Grant County Sheriff’s deputies arrested four people Monday suspected of a Friday robbery near Moses Lake, according to a statement from the GCSO.
Deputies responded about 2 p.m. to a report of a robbery in the 13000 block of Road 10 Northeast, according to the statement. The two victims, one male and one female, advised deputies that suspects identified as 44-year-old Justin Bashaw, 35-year-old Gilberto Valdovinos Medina, 36-year-old Joshua Essex and 41-year-old Jamie Valenzuela had entered the motorhome, taken a laptop computer and a heater and assaulted the two. The victims also said that Valdovinos was armed with a handgun throughout the incident and that Valdovinos struck the male victim in the face with the handgun. The four suspects then left.
Deputies began watching the four suspects’ homes on Monday, according to the statement. Bashaw was arrested at a home on Plaza Street in Marine View Heights in the MarDon area, Essex and Valenzuela were arrested at a home in the 9300 block of Road M.3 Northeast and Valdovinos was arrested near the 4800 block of Road L.9 Northeast.
All four suspects were lodged in the Grant County Jail for investigation of first-degree robbery, the GCSO wrote. Valdovinos also faces a charge of first-degree assault. The incident was not random, the statement said.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.