AUBURN, Wash. — A fatal Auburn shooting occurred after a teen tracked his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and chased him to an intersection, according to charging documents.
Jesus Castaneda-Peraza, 16, faces charges of murder in the first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm after Fabian Gonzalez, 20, was killed on the morning of May 30.
According to police, Castaneda-Peraza looked up his girlfriend's location and realized she was with someone else. He left Auburn Riverside High School after his first period class and drove to a parking lot just off Auburn Way South to "lay and wait" for his girlfriend's vehicle to drive by.
His girlfriend was driving with Gonzalez in the passenger seat, and after they passed Castaneda-Peraza's location, he chased after them and eventually pulled up next to the car at a traffic light on the passenger's side of the vehicle.
Castaneda-Peraza fired three shots at the victim at nearly point-blank range, each of which was fatal, according to court documents.
His girlfriend then got out of the driver's side of the car and climbed into the car with Castaneda-Peraza, and they drove off together.
Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene just before 10 a.m. after officers and medics performed life-saving measures.
Police eventually tracked Castaneda-Peraza and his girlfriend to the Portland area through cellphone pings. Castaneda-Peraza's car was tracked to a Quality Inn in Gresham, Ore., and Gresham police took both he and his girlfriend into custody.
The sentencing range for Castaneda-Peraza if convicted is about 26 to 34 years.
Castaneda-Peraza was convicted less than six months ago on two counts of attempted robbery and unlawful firearm possession after allegedly robbing two people at gunpoint, according to charging documents.
He will have an arraignment in King County Superior Court on Wednesday.
