Two brothers face 13 and 20 years in road-rage killing

Herald staff

SEATTLE — Two brothers have been convicted of second-degree murder in a fatal stabbing that followed a traffic dispute.

Edgar and Sergio Anaya, 18 and 21, face 13 to 20 years in prison under state guidelines when they are sentenced Jan. 12 for the death of Antonio Moreno, 36, of White Center.

The Anayas, who claimed they acted in self-defense, were convicted Monday by a King County Superior Court jury after slightly more than a day of deliberations.

After the verdict, Blanca Moreno, the dead man’s widow, and her five daughters waited in a hall to shake the hands of the jurors.

Testimony showed the death followed a quinceanera, a traditional Hispanic party for a 15-year-old girl, that was attended by the Anayas and Morenos on Aug. 21, 1999, although the two families did not know each other.

The Anaya brothers, driving impatiently behind the Morenos, tried to pass and hit the door of their car, then sped away but stalled a few blocks away after hitting a stop sign.

Three of the daughters and Blanca Moreno testified that the two brothers beat and then stabbed Antonio Moreno seven times.

  • Drilling ban remains: A moratorium on exploratory drilling for petroleum and natural gas off the northern British Columbia coast will remain in effect, Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said. The ban will not be revisited until science offers greater assurance of protection from pollution caused by spills, including spills resulting from earthquakes, Dosanjh said Monday. Officials from the northwestern part of the province have been pressing for the drilling ban to be lifted for economic reasons, and their cause was adopted this summer by former provincial Energy Minister Dan Miller of Prince Rupert. Dosanjh said environmental protection must take precedence over economic diversification. A review by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1998 indicates reserves amounting to 9.8 billion barrels of oil and 43.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The recoverable potential, a third of the oil and 90 percent of the gas, is equal to more than half the country’s conventional oil reserves and 60 percent of the gas.

  • Couple die in plane crash: A man and his wife were found dead in the wreckage of a small plane Monday in a wooded area of rural Benton County near Corvallis. Robert R. Dickerson, 27, the pilot, and his wife, 25-year-old Michelle A. Dickerson, were killed, said Kay West, a sheriff’s spokeswoman. The rented Cessna 150 was flying from Eugene to the town of Independence, just south of Salem. The small plane last was seen on radar north of Corvallis at about 10 p.m. Sunday. Three search planes and a ground team patrolled the area Monday. A National Guard helicopter spotted the crash site at about 2:30 p.m. Robert Dickerson was a senior Salem firefighter-paramedic and went from station to station evaluating medical training. He received his pilot’s license this summer, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

  • Governor’s car stolen: Leaving keys in the car isn’t a good idea, even when it’s parked at the governor’s house in Portland. Gov. John Kitzhaber’s wife, Sharon, learned that lesson this past weekend when the couple’s leased Mercury Grand Marquis was found, badly dented, wedged between a stop sign and a light pole at the end of an exit ramp off U.S. 26, which runs through the middle of the city. A man who appeared disoriented and drunk was seen grabbing items from the back seat of the late-model vehicle when a tow truck driver, Michael Block, drove past early Saturday and shined a light at him. The man asked Block for a ride out of town. Instead, the tow truck driver alerted his dispatcher, and the man walked off. The car, which Sharon Kitzhaber drives for official business, was last used Friday, said Bob Applegate, the governor’s spokesman. She had left the car unlocked in the driveway of their home in the West Hills near the Oregon Zoo, Applegate said. The Kitzhabers didn’t know the vehicle was missing but they reported it stolen as soon as they were notified it had been found, police said.
    Talk to us

    > Give us your news tips.

    > Send us a letter to the editor.

    > More Herald contact information.

  • More in Local News

    A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
    ‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

    Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

    Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
    ‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

    Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

    Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
    Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

    The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

    Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
    How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

    “In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

    Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

    Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

    Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
    Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

    After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

    Everett
    Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

    In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

    Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

    City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

    Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

    “We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

    Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
    Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

    The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

    The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

    At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

    Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
    Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

    Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

    Support local journalism

    If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.