14-year-old charged with attempted murder in Pasco shooting linked to gang rivalry
A 14-year-old Prosser teen was arrested this week on a $1 million attempted murder warrant for shooting a Pasco 14-year-old.
Sunnyside police arrested Jose Felix Gomez Mendoza about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday at a Yakima Valley Highway motel.
He’s accused of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and illegally having a gun.
Police officials said Gomez Mendoza surrendered to police after they contacted his mother inside the room. He was then turned over to Pasco police to taken to the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center in Kennewick.
Pasco police Sgt. Tom Groom said the teen was wanted in connection with the March shooting near 22nd Avenue and Henry Street that severely wounded another teen who managed to get help a block away at a Rite Aid store.
Sunnyside and Pasco police did not release the suspect’s name but his name was listed in court documents.
According to the documents, a group of four teens, identified only in court records by their initials, were walking around Pasco and encountered Gomez Mendoza.
They knew him because Gomez Mendoza had reportedly slapped one of their cousins at the county fair.
Gomez Mendoza, who also goes by “Cholo Daloc” and is a member of Tiny Loco Surenos. The cousin had relatives who are members of the rival Gangster Disciples, said court documents.
The girl asked Gomez Mendoza if he planned to slap her too? He replied that she was just a kid but added that he is a “GDK” or Gangster Disciple Killer.
Another teen, Allen McGary, 14, came by the group as he was returning from McDonald’s and stepped in to stop Gomez Mendoza from harassing a girl, according to McGary’s mother when she previously spoke to the Herald.
Court document say, McGary asked the girl if that was “Cholo Daloc,” and when she told him it was he allegedly told Gomez Mendoza he also is a member of the Gangster Disciples. However, McGary’s mother later told the Herald her son is not involved in gangs.
Three witnesses said Gomez Mendoza responded by putting on a ski mask, pulling a gun from his waist and beginning shooting, according to court documents.
Two of other teens, who were in the line of fire but were not hit, said they heard 15 to 16 shots from the one gun.
McGary was hit several times but managed to get to a busy 20th Avenue shopping center with a Rite Aid store. He was helped by bystanders until medics could get him to a hospital.
His mother later told the Herald that he was hit in the roof of his mouth, in his arm and abdomen. One shot grazed his liver.
Gomez Mendoza fled the area.
The teen has two previous convictions for harassment, one for illegally having a gun in July 2022 and a charge for criminal mischief with a deadly weapon in April.
