EPHRATA — David Mendez Cantu III, 46, Moses Lake pleaded guilty to first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen vehicle Sept. 24 in Grant County Superior Court.  

During the hearing, Cantu pleaded guilty to both counts to Judge Tyson R. Hill. Hill sentenced Cantu to 19 months in custody and 19 months community custody for the weapons charge and 12.75 months in custody and 12.75 months in community custody for possessing the stolen vehicle, consecutively. 

Cantu has an offender score of seven, according to court documents. The offender score is the sum of points from prior and current convictions with considerations of community custody and time between offenses. The score impacts the minimum and maximum amounts of time a convicted offender must serve, according to Washington law.  

Cantu had been previously convicted of eight felonies, six of which were drug related, one for second-degree possession of a firearm and one for second-degree robbery. Cantu also had been convicted for four gross misdemeanors and six misdemeanors. 

According to the Moses Lake Police Department arresting document dated March 27, 2022, Cantu was in a Honda Accord on South Fairbanks Drive. A resident in the neighborhood called to report a suspicious vehicle. Cantu was sleeping in the parked car with the engine running. Responding officers found a semi-automatic pistol in Cantu’s possession upon arrival, according to court documents.   

The officer then called for backup, knowing Cantu was a convicted felon who should not have had a firearm. The back-up officers blocked Cantu’s vehicle. Cantu was awoken, then cuffed and searched. He had a small amount of methamphetamine in his pants pockets.  

Cantu said he got the gun from his brother. The officer told Cantu that he was a convicted felon and should not have been in possession of a firearm. Cantu told the officer that he knew he shouldn’t have had the gun. 

Cantu was transported to Grant County Jail in a holding cell while police waited for a search warrant for the vehicle. Dispatch then discovered the vin number belonged to another license plate and was registered to a different subject. Police called the owner of the vehicle and told them they had located his stolen car. The owner gave the officer verbal permission to search the vehicle and asked for charges to be pressed against Cantu for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.  

Cantu was then booked into jail for the incident which led to the subsequent conviction Tuesday. His sentence includes a requirement to participate in treatment for addiction during his incarceration.