Second of three suspects arrested in Moses Lake drive-by case
R. HANS MILLER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 months AGO
Mathew Valdez, 18, of Moses Lake has been arrested after fleeing to Oregon. Valdez is one of three known suspects in the investigation of a drive-by shooting that occurred March 21.
COURTESY PHOTO/MLPD
Jose Beltran-Rodriguez is still at large and is wanted as a suspect in the drive-by shooting death of a 14-year-old Moses Lake boy. Four others were victims of the shooting and sustained injuries during the attack. One of the suspects, also a 14-year-old boy, was also accidentally shot during the incident.
Managing Editor Rob Miller is a 4-year U.S. Army veteran who grew up in Western Montana in a community about the size of Soap Lake. An honors graduate of Texas State University, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Brandee, and their three dogs, Draco, Pepper and Cinnamon. He has one son, William. During his free time, he enjoys photography, video games, reading and working on the house he and his wife bought in Ephrata. He is passionate about the First Amendment and educating communities. | March 28, 2025 3:06 PM
BEAVERTON, Ore. — The Moses Lake Police Department announced the arrest of Mathew Valdez, 18, or Moses Lake in Beaverton, Ore., with the assistance of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Valdez is the second arrest in the investigation with a third suspect, Jose Beltran-Rodriguez, remaining at large as of Saturday afternoon.
Valdez was arrested in connection with the March 21 drive-by shooting that happened on Loop Drive in Moses Lake, wherein a 14-year-old Frontier Middle School student was killed and four others were injured, including the 26-year-old fiancé of MLPD Detective Juan Serrato. Those who sustained injuries were taken to Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake and treated and were last reported in stable condition and recovering.
Another suspect, a 14-year-old Mattawa boy, was arrested Tuesday in the Tri-Cities after seeking treatment for an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound believed to have occurred during the shooting incident.
A vehicle and a Moses Lake home were searched for evidence and the U.S. Marshals, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and other agencies are assisting in the investigation.
Anyone with information about the location of the remaining at-large suspect, Jose Beltran-Rodriguez, is asked to call the U.S. Marshals tip line at 1-800-336-0102 or visit www.usmarshals.gov/tips. The Marshals are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the remaining suspect.
MLPD later announced that U.S. Marshals had located another subject in the investigation for rendering criminal assistance and conducted a high-risk stop on the subject’s vehicle on the Alder Fill near Broadway Avenue, which caused a traffic backup at around 2 p.m. Friday. Three subjects were detained for questioning during that stop.
Jose Beltran-Rodriguez is still at large and is wanted as a suspect in the drive-by shooting death of a 14-year-old Moses Lake boy. Four others were victims of the shooting and sustained injuries during the attack. One of the suspects, also a 14-year-old boy, was also accidentally shot during the incident.ARTICLES BY R. HANS MILLER
Court cases in March 2025 shooting death of Moses Lake teen moving forward
EPHRATA — Jose D. Beltran Rodriguez, 21, of Moses Lake, and Matthew Gabriel Valdez, 19, also of Moses Lake, remain in custody at the Grant County jail after being arrested in connection with a March 21, 2025, drive-by shooting in Moses Lake.
Sentencing hearing set in 2022 Moses Lake murder case
EPHRATA — Juan Gastelum, the suspect in the March 2022 killing of Yanira Cedillos, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on March 3. He is now scheduled for an April 28 sentencing hearing. According to court documentation, Gastelum, 32, of Hermiston, Ore., pleaded guilty to Murder in the Second Degree with Sexual Motivation. The minimum sentence Gastelum may receive under the law is two years in prison, but the maximum is life imprisonment and up to a $50,000 fine. However, the sentencing hearing is under Special Set Sentencing, an option under Washington state law which allows adjustments to sentencing if a suspect pleads guilty.
Court case in Nov. 2025 Moses Lake shooting moving forward
EPHRATA — The trial into the shooting of a 23 year old Moses Lake man is progressing through Grant County Superior Court. Darwin Nahun Tejada Martinez, 29, of Seattle is on trial facing a single charge of Assault in the First Degree after investigators say he shot the victim in a Nov. 25, 2025, incident.