EVERETT — A teen admitted on Monday he took part in a gang ambush in a south Everett neighborhood that erupted in gunfire.
Ronald Gomez, 16, was in the back seat of a car that pulled up to a teen who allegedly was lured outside by a north Everett woman. Someone inside the car opened fire on another boy who was struck twice.
Gomez and his alleged accomplices are facing felony charges in adult court.
Detectives believe the June 11 ambush was in retaliation for a February shooting at Northgate Mall in Seattle. They say members of MS-13, a violent street gang, were behind the Everett shooting.
The shooter has not been arrested.
Prosecutors recently charged the alleged driver, Sarah Black, 30, with assault.
Black allegedly told investigators she is a recruiter for MS-13. She has ties to gang members in California and El Salvador, prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
Detectives believe gang members from California came to Everett. They allegedly told Black to assemble a meeting to talk about problems with other gangs in the area, including the Northgate shooting, court documents said.
Gomez, and about a dozen others, were at the meeting.
Black told investigators she was following orders when she sent a message to the 16-year-old victim’s MySpace account, posing as “Lady Killer,” and set up a bogus date with him.
Gomez admitted he was part of the setup. He initially was charged with first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, along with another boy, Armando Lopez, 17.
Gomez, of Seattle, appeared Monday before Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Eric Lucas. The teen wore a bright orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles.
“He is very nervous,” his attorney, Anthony Howard, told the judge.
Gomez pleaded guilty to drive-by shooting.
Prosecutors will recommend he be sentenced to a little more than a year in juvenile detention. He faced more than a decade in prison if convicted of the assault charge, Howard said.
Gomez is expected to be sentenced Aug. 18.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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