Rock-throwing suspect sentenced for assaults
EPHRATA – A Washougal man accused of throwing rocks at multiple vehicles on an entry ramp to Interstate 90 near Moses Lake this summer has pled guilty to felony assault charges and was sentenced Monday in Grant County Superior Court.
Judge Melissa Chlarson sentenced 43-year-old Ezequiel Solorio Valdez to seven months in jail and ordered him to complete 12 months’ community supervision upon release. Under state sentencing guidelines, he faced a standard range of four to 12 months behind bars.
Valdez was also ordered to obtain a mental health evaluation and comply with any recommended treatment, consume no alcohol or drugs without a valid prescription, and pay restitution totaling $6,549 to seven victims from Moses Lake, Pasco, Kirkland, and Marysville.
Shortly before 8 p.m. on June 28, authorities were advised of a rock-throwing male pedestrian on the westbound entry ramp of I-90 from Broadway Avenue. Moses Lake police initially responded and detained Valdez, followed by WSP troopers who conducted the investigation.
According to the State Patrol report, 18 witnesses advised they saw Valdez throwing rocks that damaged 13 vehicles and injured two people riding in a truck. The male driver said he initially slowed down, thinking Valdez needed help, when Valdez threw a rock “the size of a large potato” which broke a rear side window. The rock traveled through the cab and dented an interior door panel on the other side. Glass shards cut the driver’s left eyelid and the left leg of a female passenger, drawing blood, the report stated.
The Grant County Prosecutor’s Office initially charged Valdez with two felony counts of third-degree assault involving bodily harm with a weapon and one count of third-degree malicious mischief, a gross misdemeanor. The malicious mischief charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement reached with the defendant on Monday. Valdez was scheduled to stand trial on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
In July, Superior Court Judge Tyson Hill found Valdez incompetent following an initial mental evaluation, saying the defendant was unable to understand the proceedings against him or assist in his legal defense. Valdez, who had prior felony convictions in 2016 for third-degree assault and illegal drug possession, was placed into a state in-patient treatment program to undergo “competency restoration.”
After completion, during an Aug. 26 court hearing, Chlarson issued a “determination of competency” and Valdez’s case was set for trial. He remains jailed following Monday’s sentencing hearing.
Valdez was represented by county public defender David Bustamante. The state’s case was handled by county deputy prosecutor Shirley Arreola-Kern.
