Toppenish man gets life in orchard rape

YAKIMA, Wash. — A Toppenish man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for raping a woman looking for work at a Buena orchard.

Rodolfo Ramirez Tinajero awaits trial in a similar case in which he is accused of raping a woman who responded to an advertisement on Radio KDNA, a Spanish-language radio station in Granger.

Ramirez Tinajero qualified for the state's two-strikes law because of a 1994 conviction in Yakima County for a sexually motivated burglary.

Deputy prosecutor Patti Powers said the prosecutor's office would have to consult with the victim and weigh other factors before deciding whether to proceed with the second rape trial, which could start as early as next week.

The woman in the case for which Ramirez Tinajero was convicted said she went to a Buena orchard a little after 6 a.m. one August morning in 2007 looking for work.

She said a man approached her and asked her to follow him, which she did. She said he then pulled out a knife and raped her on the ground in the orchard.

Defense attorney Adolfo Banda countered that the two had consensual sex, for which the woman was allegedly paid $50.

Jurors convicted him of first-degree rape in less than two hours.

In the case awaiting trial, sheriff's investigators say Ramirez Tinajero's DNA was found on gloves left in an orchard near Wapato.

The victim told detectives she met the suspect in April 2007 after responding to a radio ad looking for workers. She said the suspect led her to a remote area, held a knife to her throat and tried to rape her.

She was not able to identify the attacker in a photo lineup, detectives said.

* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.