Police Searching For Suspects in Saturday Fatal Shooting

Yakima Police say they're close to making an arrest in a fatal drive-by shooting reported early Saturday morning in downtown Yakima.

Detectives say they've found lots of video of  the suspect vehicle

Capt. Jay Seely says Major Crimes and Gang Unit Detectives have been busy this week searching for video of the suspect vehicle in Saturday's homicide.
34-year-old Joey Cantu was shot early Saturday morning after police say he exchanged words with others in a gold Chrysler PT Cruiser. Officers were called to the area at 5:37 am Saturday after police received a 911 call from a man who told them someone in another car fired shots at him and his friend, and his friend had been injured.
Authorities found the Yakima man unconscious in the west alley of 4th Ave and Chestnut with a gunshot wound in the leg. Officers performed CPR on the victim until paramedics arrived but he died at the scene.

Police were able to track the suspect vehicle before the shooting happened

Seely says security cameras were able to track the suspect vehicle in the downtown area before the shooting. He says they soon hope to identify and arrest those in the suspect vehicle. So far no arrests have been made. It was the second shooting last week. The first was reported last Thursday when an 18-year-old man was gunned down at 20th and Nob Hill Blvd.

Police are looking forward to new license plate reader cameras on the way

The city has approved the purchase of 15 special cameras to be mounted at the entrances to the city to find wanted criminals. They're called Vigilant Automatic License Plate Recognition cameras and the software associated with the cameras will provide information to detectives and patrol quickly and efficiently.
Ten of the cameras will be placed at entrances to the city and five others will be used where police say they see the highest level of crime in the city.

The cameras are already in use on patrol cars

The city is paying $110,000 for the cameras with an annual subscription cost of $5,000.
Capt. Jay Seely says the cameras will be invaluable to officers fighting crime on the streets. But he says Yakima shouldn't be alarmed. Similar cameras are already in use in Yakima. Seely says many police patrol cars have been equipped with the license plate readers for years and they've helped officers find many wanted criminals and stolen vehicles. Having the cameras mounted in specific areas of the city will help police because Seely says many gang members who live in the lower Yakima Valley commit crimes in Yakima and then flea to other areas. Seely says the cameras will help police with intelligence information that could lead to an arrest or arrests.