Kidnapping of woman in Everett brings 2-year sentence

EVERETT — A man who drove a woman to an Everett park where she was later shot is off to prison for his part in the violence.

Jorge Ignacio Martinez pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping in connection with the Jan. 11 gunfire. He was accused of delivering the victim to a disgruntled drug dealer who allegedly had put a bounty on the woman’s head after she stole from him.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wilson earlier this week sentenced Martinez to a little over two years in prison. Martinez, 27, also was sentenced for several property crimes unrelated to the shooting.

Meanwhile Snohomish County authorities were seeking a governor’s warrant to transport the accused shooter to Everett from Oklahoma, where he surrendered in July after months of being on the run. Jose Espinoza Aguilar is reportedly fighting extradition.

He is charged with first-degree assault for the shooting at Langus Park on the Snohomish River. Espinoza Aguilar reportedly pointed a gun at the woman, who had locked herself in Martinez’s pickup when she spotted Espinoza Aguilar in the parking lot.

She told police he threatened to shoot her through the window. She unlocked the door and Espinoza Aguilar, who goes by “Danger,” reportedly punched her in the face. She ran from the pickup and then felt her legs give out. She fell to the ground and was unable to move her legs. Espinoza Aguilar took the woman to the hospital. She reported that on the way there he offered to give her $10,000 if she didn’t talk to police.

The bullet lodged in the woman’s spine. Doctors told Everett police the woman likely wouldn’t be able to walk again. She has since regained some movement and can walk with assistance.

Espinoza Aguilar claimed self-defense when he fatally shot a man in Everett in 2015. He also allegedly was at a Meadowdale home shortly before a drug-related robbery and homicide in November 2016, court papers show.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.