On the morning of October 7, 2016, in Auburn, Washington, 17-year-old Hispanic male Erick Valdez-Herrera was fatally shot while sitting unarmed in his car. The incident occurred around 8:32 a.m. in the 500 block of 25th Street Southeast. Witnesses reported seeing a group of individuals approach Valdez-Herrera's vehicle, with one person firing multiple shots at close range into the car.
Valdez-Herrera sustained several gunshot wounds to his shoulder, back, and chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooting led to precautionary lockdowns at several nearby schools.
The investigation quickly pointed to a suspect, 16-year-old Alexander Joachin, a known gang member. He was located by police just two blocks from the scene approximately 15 minutes after the shooting, though his involvement wasn't confirmed at that time. Later that night, around 11 p.m., authorities found and arrested Joachin at a residence in Federal Way. During a police interview, Joachin confessed to shooting Valdez-Herrera.
Joachin told detectives that his initial intention was to "sock him" but he changed his mind and instead pulled out a gun he had concealed in his pants and fired multiple times. The motive for the shooting was reportedly that Valdez-Herrera had been "disrespectful" to other gang members. Following his confession, investigators recovered a handgun that matched the caliber of the weapon used in the murder, along with clothing Joachin allegedly wore during the commission of the crime.
Despite being a juvenile, Alexander Joachin was charged as an adult with second-degree murder. In September 2017, he pleaded guilty to the charge. Subsequently, a Superior Court judge sentenced Joachin, then 17, to 12 and a half years in prison for the death of Erick Valdez-Herrera.
