There are only so many homicide detectives available.

That's the reason Yakima Police are not arresting or recommending charges against anyone in Sunday's death of 18-year-old Sofia Ramirez.

Spokesman Mike Bastinelli says Ramirez shot herself while handling a loaded gun. Her body was found in a car at Third Street and Arlington. The body was placed there by others at a party she attended.

Bastinelli says any charges would have been only misdemeanors, resulting in tickets. And he says that would have taken resources away from homicide investigations.

"It was determined that it was the best use of resources to focus on many of the unsolved homicides we have in the city. It would have taken days and multiple detectives," he said Wednesday.
But Bastinelli says the department is "not conducting business as usual" with seven unsolved homicides in the city. He says it's a department with limited resources and those resources give homicide investigations top priority.

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