High school senior accused of firing gun at Pierce County house-party shooting
A high school senior accused of firing a gun during a deadly shooting outside a crowded house party in the Spanaway area appeared in court Monday. Prosecutors said it was lucky he didn't kill anyone.
Christopher Lee Cobb, 18 of Federal Way, pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault for his part in the incident, which ended with the deaths of 19-year-old Hector Gonzalez Valdez and 15-year-old Joaquin Ramirez. Four other people were wounded.
A second teenager, Isaiah Davion Williams, 17, has been charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Valdez and Ramirez as well as second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He remains in custody at Remann Hall on $1 million bail.
Before ordering that Cobb be held in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille said there was an epidemic of gun violence in the country.
'And we have an epidemic of young people possessing guns who should not have them, and who also use them in ways that result in fatalities,' McInvaille said.
It's unclear how Cobb came to possess the firearm he's alleged to have used. Deputy prosecuting attorney Dalton Smith said detectives had not yet located the gun. In Washington, it is illegal for people under age 21 to possess a handgun or a semiautomatic assault rifle, although there are exceptions.
Cobb's attorney from the Department of Assigned Counsel, Brandy Miller, said the defendant is a senior at Truman High School in Federal Way who has no prior criminal history. Miller told McInvaille that under Criminal Rule 3.2, the presumption is to release the accused person unless that presumption can be overcome.
McInvaille agreed but said there are exceptions to the presumption.
'This was a house party that clearly got out of control,' McInvaille said. 'We have two people who are deceased as a result of being there and having been shot.'
The amount of bail McInvaille imposed is what was recommended by Smith. He said Cobb wasn't the one who killed the victims, but he possessed a firearm and shot at someone during the incident. Charging documents state Cobb is specifically accused of assaulting Gonzalez Valdez.
The March 29 shooting occurred at about 12:24 a.m. in the middle of a residential street in the 17800 block of 25th Avenue Court. A young woman who was injured previously told The News Tribune that the party was meant to celebrate a girl's birthday.
Surveillance video showed that Valdez and Ramirez were talking to Williams when they were suddenly shot. Ramirez died at the scene and Valdez died at a local hospital.
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