Spokane7
49°
July 19, 2010 in City
Two charged after shots fired at wildlife officer
An 18-year-old Mattawa man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, after shooting at a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife police captain Saturday in Grant County.
Jose J. Garcia-Meraze is being held in Grant County Jail on $1 million bail, along with his 60-year-old father, Nicholas Garcia-Godinez, who drew a knife on another WDFW officer. Garcia-Godinez has been charged with second-degree assault and is being held on $100,000 bail.
The men, who made a preliminary appearance today in Grant County Superior Court, are to be formally arraigned next week. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also placed holds on both men.
The two were arrested Saturday evening, following a vehicle pursuit by WDFW and the Washington State Patrol on State Route 28 near Ephrata.
The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Saturday when an officer was checking anglers at Crab Creek, a popular fishing area near Beverly in Grant County. The officer contacted Garcia-Meraze, who had been fishing but did not have a license, according to police reports.
As the officer was escorting the suspect back to his vehicle to confirm whether he had purchased a license, Garcia-Meraze drew a gun and pointed it at the officer, according to police. His father also approached the officer, brandishing a knife, police reports said.
Garcia-Meraze escaped in a car. During the pursuit, he turned his vehicle around and drove toward Anderson’s marked police vehicle, firing shots and penetrating the driver’s side door with one round, according to police reports. An officer returned fire after the suspect attempted to shoot at him a second time, police said.
After a pursuit of several miles, the suspect was apprehended after his car stalled on State Route 28 near Ephrata.
The incident is being investigated by the Columbia Basin Investigative Team, a regional law-enforcement consortium. Investigations are routinely conducted following police use of force involving firearms.
Couple acquitted of caging 2 boys 
spokanecommunistparty on July 19 at 5:37 p.m.
Those cuffs may never come off, at least he didn’t get a 20 dollar ticket.
misjustice on July 19 at 5:40 p.m.
Brilliant! Like father, like son?
JetBlack on July 19 at 6:23 p.m.
Wow. Idiots.
Back in Maryland, you had to wear your permits on the outside of your clothes. Hunting and fishing. It made ti obvious who had them.
twobit on July 19 at 8:23 p.m.
i heard you also wear name tags too do you dont forget your name
force_vector on July 19 at 8:37 p.m.
These two morons were up to more than illegal fishing if they decided to go all gangsta over something as small as fishing without a license. And to shoot at the “Captain” takes balls bigger than the smallest legal bass. Coming soon to a roadside cleanup near you….
Dazzeetrader11 on July 19 at 9:17 p.m.
These are “bad guys”……wherever they came from. They need to go back. WOW! bet the Fish and Game guys weren’t expecting this.
spokanada on July 19 at 10:54 p.m.
Daisy, are you profiling? They came from Mattawa. It was mentioned in the first sentence.
spokanada on July 19 at 10:56 p.m.
Daisy, it seems like you wake up everyday with a desire to prove your ignorance to the world. Keep up the good work.
monkeyman on July 20 at 12:32 a.m.
hmm…
Is it just me wondering that it sounds too bizarre to be the complete story?
The father’s involvement seems limited to this extent - “His father also approached the officer, brandishing a knife, police reports said.” - possible embellishment in the police report?
If not, then I would like to know how did the father manage to stay out of trouble for the previous 60 years?!!
Dazzeetrader11 on July 20 at 2:55 a.m.
Spokanada you have the brains of a vile earthworm. I think I got the town right. SO? They live there….where’d they come from?..if you get my drift…..
Orange on July 20 at 8:43 a.m.
Actually you both are wrong. But keep up the conversation. Entertaining.
Coffee on July 20 at 10:15 a.m.
Spokanda :”The men, who made a preliminary appearance today in Grant County Superior Court, are to be formally arraigned next week. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also placed holds on both men.” From this seems to me they may come from another country and if they do that would explain why they attacked the officer and attempted to flee. I do not think they check illegal stats there so would have been smarter to just take the ticket.