EVERETT — Two young men now are facing felony assault charges for their alleged roles in a gang-related May 29 shooting that left a 16-year-old boy paralyzed.
The gunfire along Beverly Boulevard that Memorial Day afternoon initially was thought to be the result of road rage.
Instead, the bullets were fired from a white Explorer that carried a group of self-identified gang members. Their target was a rival who was at the wheel of a Honda Civic, according to Snohomish County Superior Court papers.
The boy who was wounded was a passenger in the Honda. He is not a gang member, deputy prosecutor Jarett Goodkin wrote.
The two men charged last week are both from Everett and accused of first-degree assault using a firearm.
Ryan William Montanez, 18, reportedly shouted curses, flashed gang signs and leaned out the window of the Explorer with a firearm in his hand. Juan Jose Sanchez-Ceras, 19, allegedly was driving the vehicle.
Sanchez-Ceras’ brother, Pedro Luis Sanchez, was charged in June with first-degree assault. He reportedly was seated in the front passenger seat in the Explorer and is suspected of also firing from the vehicle. Although just 16, Pedro Sanchez was automatically charged as an adult because of his age and the seriousness of the crime. He was awaiting trial on a weapons charge at the time of the shooting.
A 14-year-old passenger in the Explorer also is charged in juvenile court. He’s believed to be one of the shooters. That teen was shot in the arm last year in a drive-by shooting on E. Casino Road. His brother, then 15, was shot three weeks later along that same stretch.
Court papers name the gang sets that the suspects allegedly claim affiliation. Feuding between those groups and their allies over the past two years is believed to have fueled dozens of incidents of gunfire in the south Everett area, inside and outside city limits.
The boy who was wounded on Memorial Day was shot in the spine. Detectives have been told he lost the use of his legs.
The gunfire followed a confrontation in a store parking lot between the people in the Explorer and the driver of the Honda. The trouble spilled out onto the roadway and escalated into gunfire, court papers say.
Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.
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