Video shows barrage of bullets from assault rifle, other guns at crowded Pasco nightclub
A gunman sprayed more than a dozen shots from an assault rifle through the front window of a crowded Pasco nightclub last month, nearly hitting more than two dozen people, a newly released video shows.
The gunfire left a 24-year-old man seriously hurt, a security guard grazed by a bullet and more than 20 others in danger of being killed, according to the videos and court documents.
Security camera footage from the May 18 shooting at the La Cantina bar shows the brief struggle that allegedly led Eduardo M. Salazar, 32, and Jesus Martinez-Lopez, 26, to open fire at another man.
The footage was obtained by the Herald under Washington’s Public Records Act.
Both men are charged in Franklin County Superior Court with attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault in connection with the shootout.
The videos were shown during a recent court hearing where Martinez-Lopez’s $200,000 bail was revoked.
One shows an outside view of the Court Street bar and the other was taken from inside La Cantina facing the main entrance.
Shots can be heard less than a minute after Martinez-Lopez is told to leave just before 2 a.m. The bar was refusing to serve him because he’d had too much to drink, according to prosecutors.
He can be seen walking out into the parking lot and standing for a moment before turning back toward the bar. Salazar followed him and tossed him the keys to a silver car parked in front.
Martinez-Lopez retrieved what appears to be an AR-15 rifle from the backseat and approached where Salazar was talking with security guards.
Another patron, Cesar O. Ponce-Gutierrez, walked out of the bar about that time. The video shows him walk into the parking lot and pause.
He told police later that he saw the armed men and decided to get his own gun from his car.
What happens next isn’t clear, but it appears there is a short scuffle between Martinez-Lopez and Ponce-Gutierrez, ending with Salazar holding a pistol to Ponce-Gutierrez’s head, according to court documents.
The two wrestled briefly over Ponce-Gutierrez’s handgun before he shot and wounded Salazar.
Salazar and Martinez-Lopez return fire even after Ponce-Gutierrez, 24, ran back into the bar. He was hit 10 times. Salazar was shot twice.
Salazar and Martinez-Lopez fled before police arrived. Salazar was found after he was dropped off at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, and Martinez-Lopez was arrested later in the morning.
Neither of their guns were found, said investigators.
Man shot 10 times with assault rifle when guns are pulled outside a Tri-Cities bar
Taking away bail
When Martinez-Lopez was initially booked into jail, his bail was set at $200,000. At the time, prosecutors had not seen the video and had not charged him with attempted second-degree murder.
Salazar was booked in a little more than a week later, and prosecutors asked that he be held without bail. Court Commissioner Brandon Holt agreed.
Martinez-Lopez’s family gathered the money to pay for a bond to get him released.
But on Wednesday this week, prosecutors asked a judge to revoke his bail.
The unusual step of denying someone the chance of bail requires prosecutors to show a judge that the person is a high risk to the community.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Stovern argued the callousness that Martinez-Lopez showed when he started shooting demonstrates he is a danger, and might simply do it again.
“It could have been much worse,” Stovern said. “I would argue shooting up a building like that demonstrates a proclivity for violence.”
But Martinez-Lopez’s attorney Deric Orr argued that his client didn’t start shooting until Ponce-Gutierrez began firing.
“While the allegations at issue are serious ... the state has done nothing to show a ‘propensity’ for violence,” Orr said. “Mr. Martinez-Lopez did not pursue the alleged victim, nor did he harm anyone else.”
Court Commissioner Holt said Martinez-Lopez didn’t appear to care about who was put in danger by his actions, and there were no conditions that would protect the community and he revoked his bail.
