Alford Plea Used in Yakima Shooting Case; Defendant Gets 15 Years

a 23-year-old man from Yakima has been sentenced to 15-years in prison on a charge of 2nd degree murder following a shooting last year that killed 17-year-old Landynn Lewis of Yakima Police say Angel Ayala, a local gang member, shot the victim in the Safeway/Rite Aid parking lot in the 2200 block of West Nob Hill Blvd.

WHAT IS AN ALFORD PLEA?

Anyala of Terrace Heights agreed to an Alford plea that helped him avoid a full trial on the charges. The plea allows him to maintain his innocence while admitting that he could have been found guilty by a jury. Officers were called to the parking lot after getting calls of shots fired. They arrive and find a juvenile male, identified as Landynn Lewis who was shot in the head sitting in the drivers seat of a jeep that had crashed into a tree in the lot. Lewis died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Police say the shooter, Angel Ayala was also at the scene and was taken into custody.

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HE TOLD POLICE IT WAS A SHOOTING TO DEFEND HIMSELF

He told police he and a friend were walking in the parking lot when they walked by the victim's vehicle in the parking lot. Police say the those in the Jeep showed saw him show gang signs. Ayala says a short time later he noticed the Jeep starting to drive toward him at a high speed. He told police he fired shots from a 10 mm Glock to protect himself.

THE VICTIM CRASHED A VEHICLE

The Jeep then crashed into a nearby tree and also a vehicle owned by homeless people in the parking lot. The 21-year-old Ayala then called 9-1-1 to report the shooting. Police arrived and took him into custody on 6 counts of First Degree Assault. The victim was taken to a Yakima hospital then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he died.
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