On the evening of November 6, 2022, Branden Michael Lombardo, a 26-year-old White/Caucasian male, was driving his maroon Chevrolet Malibu in central Vancouver, Washington. First responders were called to what initially appeared to be a single-vehicle car crash on Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard. They discovered Lombardo inside his vehicle with a gunshot wound.
Despite being rushed to the hospital, he succumbed to his injuries.
An autopsy later revealed that Branden Lombardo had died from a gunshot wound to the head, and his death was officially ruled a homicide. Investigators discovered a bullet hole in the window of his car, which shifted the focus of their work from a traffic accident to a murder investigation. Detectives from the Vancouver Police Department's Major Crimes Unit pieced together evidence, including surveillance footage and phone records, to identify a suspect.
The investigation led to the arrest of 24-year-old Yana N. Cook. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Cook and another individual had waited for hours in an apartment complex parking lot for Lombardo. Surveillance video captured an Infiniti SUV, with its headlights off, following Lombardo's car as he left the complex. The video then showed the Infiniti pulling up alongside Lombardo's Chevrolet, followed by a muzzle flash from the passenger side of the SUV, where Cook was seated.
Yana N. Cook was arrested on November 15, 2022, when he reported for a probation check-in with the Washington State Department of Corrections. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and drive-by shooting. In March 2025, a Clark County Superior Court jury found Cook guilty of first-degree murder. The judge, noting the strong evidence of premeditation, sentenced him to more than 43 years in prison.
