Yakima drive-by shooting wounds one; Prosser man arrested

YAKIMA, Wash. — A 19-year-old Prosser man is in custody after a drive-by shooting early this morning in north central Yakima that sent a victim to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the head.

The victim suffered a glancing blow from a bullet and the injury is not considered life-threatening, Yakima police said in a news release.

It was the second drive-by shooting of the night in Yakima, police said. No one was injured in the first one.

The second shooting occurred about 12:45 a.m. at 316 Cherry Ave., the same general vicinity of other shootings in recent weeks.

According to the release issued by Sgt. Mike Costello, five people were in the residence when shots were fired from a vehicle that pulled up in front of the house.

Occupants told police they saw a white car in front of the house just before the shooting.

A police officer stopped a white vehicle minutes later at North First and I streets, detaining the 19-year-old driver and two juvenile female passengers. The juveniles are from Yakima and Selah, according to Capt. Greg Copeland.

The news release said officers found a handgun and shell casings inside the vehicle.

The driver, who Copeland said is an admitted gang member, was booked into the county jail for investigation of five counts of first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. The suspect has prior felony convictions for eluding and malicious mischief. The females aren’t being charged at this time, the news release said.

Copeland said while the suspect has gang ties, the shooting is not believed to be gang-related.

Two people suffered gunshot wounds in separate incidents on nearby Roosevelt Avenue in early June.

Police also are investigating an unrelated drive-by shooting in the 700 block of South Eighth Street that occurred shortly before midnight Wednesday.

The house was struck by bullets fired from a dark-colored sedan. None of the three people inside were hit,  Copeland said.

- David Lester