On a Tuesday afternoon, June 16, 2015, in Everett, Washington, the life of 28-year-old Hispanic male Carlos H. Lara-Ramos was cut short in a fatal shooting. The incident unfolded around 4:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the Arterra Apartments on West Casino Road. When police arrived, they found Lara-Ramos with a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation quickly revealed the shooting was not a random act of violence but the tragic culmination of a domestic dispute. Both Lara-Ramos and the suspect had been romantically involved with the same woman. The suspect, Alexander Sandoval-Ortiz, 33, was reportedly upset that his relationship with the woman had ended and she had begun dating Lara-Ramos. In the days leading up to the shooting, Sandoval-Ortiz had sent threatening messages and a picture of a handgun to his ex-girlfriend. On the day of the murder, he learned Lara-Ramos was at the apartment complex and lay in wait for at least an hour.
When Lara-Ramos exited one of the apartments, a confrontation ensued. The argument escalated into a physical fight, during which Sandoval-Ortiz shot Lara-Ramos. Witnesses reported seeing the suspect point the gun at the victim's chest and pull the trigger. After the shooting, Sandoval-Ortiz fled the scene on foot, prompting a search involving police K-9 units and a helicopter, though he was not immediately located.
Two days later, on June 18, 2015, Everett Police detectives arrested Alexander Sandoval-Ortiz. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. During the investigation, Sandoval-Ortiz, a self-proclaimed member of the MS-13 street gang with prior felony convictions in California, admitted to his involvement. He claimed the shooting was accidental and that he only intended to pistol-whip Lara-Ramos during their scuffle. However, a jury later convicted him of premeditated first-degree murder. The case was officially ruled a homicide by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office.
