3 arrested in connection with drive-by shooting in NE Olympia

Three suspects have been arrested after a suspected drive-by shooting in a northeast Olympia neighborhood on Monday night.

Olympia police officers responded to several 911 calls at 9:40 p.m. Monday about gunshots fired at a home in the 3500 block of Woodside Court Northeast.

Officers found bullet casings on the roadway in front of the home, along with bullets and bullet strike marks on a parked car, the fence and in the yard of the house, according to court documents.

No one was injured, police said.

Officers learned that the occupant’s son, who does not live at the residence, was involved in a verbal argument with Angel Rodriguez, 20, at a local grocery store earlier in the evening. During the argument, police were told Rodriguez intimidated the victim with what the victim described as gang-related threats, according to a probable cause statement. After arguing for a short time, the two parted.

In the follow-up investigation, Olympia police detectives learned that after the argument, Rodriguez had contacted friends and planned to drive to where they thought the victim lived and shoot at his home.

Once there, police believe two friends of Rodriguez shot multiple times at the house as they drove along the roadway, then fled before police arrived.

According to Deputy Prosecutor Christy Peters, the intended target of the shooting was not at the house. However, the intended target’s father and four minor children were home when the shots were fired.

Detectives served several search warrants on the suspects’ homes and located handguns believed to have been used in the shooting, as well as several other firearms, according to documents.

Rodriguez was arrested Wednesday. He appeared in court Thursday and was being held on $20,000 bail.

The other two suspects — Aaron Salazar Ruiz, 19, and Jesus H. Flores, 18 — were booked into the Thurston County jail and appeared in court Friday.

Bail for Salazar Ruiz was set for $50,000 and bail for Flores was set for $45,000. Both are accused of shooting at the house, according to court documents.

Neither Ruiz nor Flores has any prior criminal history. Their charges include possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful posession of an unlawful firearm.

All three suspects will be arraigned April 12.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 7:31 AM with the headline "3 arrested in connection with drive-by shooting in NE Olympia."