Man Shot At Cockfight Was Robber, Police Say

A man killed at a cockfight apparently was shot accidentally while he and several other men beat up and robbed several people, Yakima County sheriff’s investigators say.

Investigators believe Jesus Brambila was one of about a dozen robbers who stormed a rural barn where people were gathering to watch the illegal cockfight Jan. 24, sheriff’s officials said.

The robbers wore dark clothing and masks and carried an assortment of guns. They ordered about 20 people to lie on the ground and then robbed them, sheriff’s detective Robert Weedin said Friday.

All the victims were kicked, punched or hit with the guns. Several people suffered broken noses, bruised jaws or sore ribs, Weedin said.

Brambila apparently was killed when one of the robbers accidentally fired a shotgun blast, which struck the 29-year-old Yakima man in the neck, Weedin said.

Investigators were unsure who fired the fatal shot.

During the past two months, similar robberies have been reported throughout the Yakima Valley, said Weedin, who refused to elaborate.

Brambila’s three brothers drove him to Sunnyside Community Hospital, sheriff’s officials say. There, they told authorities Brambila had been shot as they were getting out of their car to attend the cockfight.

However, witnesses have told investigators Brambila was one of the robbers, sheriff’s officials say.

Sheriff’s officials were preparing arrest warrants for Brambila’s brothers.

Weedin said investigators suspect the men have fled the area. They did not attend their brother’s funeral, he said.