In the early morning hours of February 16, 2014, the life of 16-year-old White/Caucasian male Brandon Michael Mende of Moses Lake, Washington, was tragically cut short. Brandon, a ninth-grader in the Moses Lake School District, was found with a fatal gunshot wound in the front yard of a residence on Turnkey Road Northeast. When authorities arrived around 3 a.m., they discovered a vehicle parked nearby with its lights on and the driver's side door ajar, though the vehicle did not belong to
Mende.
The investigation into Brandon's death quickly revealed that this was not the first time he had been a target. Less than a month prior, on January 20, he had been shot twice and wounded in a drive-by shooting while riding his bicycle in the same Larson Housing area. At the time of his death, he was still recovering from those injuries and was wearing a cast on his arm. Law enforcement believed both shootings were targeted and not random acts of violence. After the initial shooting in January, neither Mende nor witnesses were cooperative with the investigation.
A breakthrough in the murder investigation came with the arrest of 17-year-old Michael David Meier, also from Moses Lake, on February 20, 2014. Meier was taken into custody and subsequently charged with first-degree murder. According to court documents, the motive for the killing appeared to stem from a personal feud; Meier was reportedly upset with Mende for having been involved with his girlfriend. Witnesses at a party on Turnkey Road that night reported that Meier had gathered his friends and prepared for a confrontation when Mende went outside with a girl.
Following the sound of gunshots, witnesses saw Mende fall to the ground. Meier and several others then fled the scene in his mother's minivan. During the escape, Meier allegedly told his friends that he had shot Mende and was seen discarding the pistol and its magazine out of the vehicle's window; both were later recovered by police. It was also reported that Meier, described as a local gang leader, attempted to coerce two of his friends into taking the blame for the shooting, claiming it was in self-defense. Michael Meier pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, witness tampering, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
