Last Friday the Pierce County Prosecutor’s office planned to arraign Gabriel Indelicio Nevarez, 28, on one count of first degree murder for the 2007 drive-by shooting of Kyle Grinnell, 46. Instead, the judge in the case ordered Nevarez undergo an evaluation at Western State Hospital to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
“Pulling this defendant into court took more than nine years and a lot of hard work,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes or how far we have to go, we will find violent criminals and prosecute them and keep our community safe.”
During the afternoon of February 21, 2007, according to statements from co-defendant, Wendy Michelle Ware, Nevarez drove to Grinnell’s home on South Tyler Street looking to settle an old score with Juan Carlos Ruiz, 19, according to Ware, Nevarez arrived at the home and found Ruiz outside at the top of some stairs. Grinnell was below him about 20 feet away and in the line of fire between Nevarez’s car and Ruiz.
When the shooting started, witnesses reported hearing gunfire coming from Nevarez’s car and seeing him hanging outside the driver’s side window with both hands on a silver .38 caliber revolver, firing toward the victim. Grinnell died at the scene. Ruiz, the apparent target, was not injured.
Nevarez, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody without incident in February 2016, in Michoacan, Mexico, by the Policía Federal Ministerial, in close coordination with the FBI Legal Attaché office at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Yesterday morning Mexican authorities transferred Nevarez to FBI custody in Mexico City. FBI agents then transported Nevarez to Washington State and booked him into the Pierce County jail late last night.
“We are always ready to support our law enforcement partners in Washington, and particularly when there is an out-of-state fugitive situation,” said Special Agent in Charge Frank Montoya, Jr., of the FBI’s Seattle division. “We augment our partners’ already strong investigative efforts and reach out to additional partners to broaden the reach of law enforcement. This case ends successfully due to the valued partnership of authorities in Mexico.”
If found competent, Nevarez could be tried for one count of first degree murder, one count of first degree assault and one count of second degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
