Killings May Be Due To Claims Of Affair

The shooting deaths of two men at an apartment complex here last week may have been the result of an argument over an alleged affair, police say.

Three men are being sought in Tuesday’s shooting at Washington Park Apartments which killed Jose Luis Martinez Jr., 18, of Auburn, and a man in his early 20s, whose identity has not been released.

The men are believed to be heading toward Mexico in a gray 1980s Nissan Pulsar with Washington state license plates, said Kent police spokesman Paul Petersen.

They were identified on Saturday as Sebastian Pablo-Villa, 20, of Auburn; Ernesto Arnal, 40, of Kent; and Juan, of Kent, whose last name is unknown. Police say he is between 19 and 26 years old.

Police said the victims, who had been drinking earlier that night, confronted the three men at Arnal’s apartment because they thought Pablo-Villa was having an affair with a girlfriend.

Petersen said detectives have not ruled out self-defense as a motive for the shootings.