Mother of New Year’s Eve murder suspect sentenced for helping son flee Tri-Cities
The mother of a suspect in a Richland murder helped her son evade authorities, and now she’s also headed to jail.
But attorneys disagreed on how much Rosalina Guzman, 38, aided her son, Felipe Manjares, following the New Year’s Eve killing of of Michael Castoreno, 21, outside of the Columbia Park Apartments in Richland.
Guzman pleaded guilty to first-degree rendering criminal assistance in connection with the gang-related shooting.
Prosecutors said she kept her son away from investigators starting shortly after Castoreno’s murder, while her defense attorney said police and prosecutors only charged her son weeks before their arrest in Oklahoma.
Judge Diana Ruff said she was reluctant, but she agreed with the joint recommendation and sentenced Guzman to seven months in jail.
Manjares and two of his brothers have ties to a Sunnyside-area gang and several members of their family were tied to gang-related shootings during 2022, according to court documents.
But Guzman doesn’t have any felony history and faced between six months to a year in jail after her plea.
Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge said Guzman helped her son get away shortly after Castoreno was shot. She continued to keep police away from her son and even went as far as moving from Washington to Kingfisher, Okla.
According to court documents, Guzman knew about her son’s involvement in the murder as soon as the day after the killing.
But defense attorney Brian Hultgrenn said his client was only trying to live her life in the more than four months before her son was charged in the killing.
“She’s not responsible for this horrible murder,” he said. “She is not being punished for that murder.”
While Guzman didn’t speak at her sentencing at the recommendation of her attorney, Hultgrenn said she had wanted to tell Michael Castoreno’s family that she was sorry for their suffering.
Manjares, 19, and another teen accused in the killing, Rafael Topete Torres, 17, continue to face first-degree murder charges.
New Year’s Eve shooting
Richland police had been searching for a group of teens who confronted Castoreno in the middle of the apartment complex about 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
The group allegedly asked what his gang affiliations were, and when Castoreno answered, one teen pulled a gun out and began firing, according to court documents.
He was shot four times and left to die as the group ran.
A police dog search led police to an apartment that had been tied to a separate investigation into recent robberies in the area.
Manjares and several others involved in the shooting were identified through a photo posted on Instagram from the night of the shooting, in which they were wearing the same clothing as seen on security cameras in the area.
Manjares was allegedly referred to by the nickname “Shooter.”
Police said they were also were able to tie shell casings found at the scene to a series of shootings in Mabton, Sunnyside and Yakima County.
At least one of those shootings was tied to a group of brothers, one of them being Manjares, a known gang member.
About half an hour after the shooting, a witness said Guzman arrived in the passenger’s seat of a car at the convenience store across from the apartment complex. Her boyfriend, Valentin Sanchez, was driving, according to court documents. Security video shows Manjares along with two other teens get into the car.
After identifying the vehicle they were in, investigators tried to contact Sanchez. He allegedly referred investigators to his attorney, who told them they were headed to Caldwell, Idaho. The vehicle was found at his father’s home in Caldwell.
The shooting ended a violent year for Benton County, which had a record 19 homicides.
