In the late hours of an April evening in Yakima, Washington, the life of 53-year-old Hispanic/Latino male Ramiro Sanchez Cruz came to a violent end. On April 25, 2023, Cruz was found shot inside his van, which was parked in an alley in the 700 block of South Seventh Street. He had been living in the van for three days prior to the incident. At the time of the shooting, his two young children, aged 4 and 7, were asleep in the vehicle.
Cruz was rushed to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital but ultimately succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing two vehicles pull into the alley before three men exited and began yelling at Sanchez-Cruz. One of the men was reportedly armed with a bat. As Sanchez-Cruz attempted to drive away, a single gunshot was heard, and the two other vehicles fled the scene. Investigations into the motive for the shooting suggested a personal conflict, with reports of a "beef" between Sanchez-Cruz and the new boyfriend of his children's mother. Detectives were able to identify a car belonging to Sanchez-Cruz's ex-girlfriend at the scene using video surveillance.
Following a tip to Yakima County Crime Stoppers, authorities identified 33-year-old Charles Henry Reedy as the primary suspect. Reedy was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and two counts of first-degree assault for the endangerment of the children in the van. In a later court proceeding, Reedy entered an Alford plea to second-degree manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison, receiving 10 years for the manslaughter charge and an additional five years for the firearms charge, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
