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Grandview: Two injured as drug deal apparently goes wrong

April 6th, 2009, incident report by jbtaylor

  • March 25, 2009
  • 0
  • 2
  • 205 Fir St.
  • Grandview
  • Washington
  • 98930

Ross A Courtney. Yakima Herald - Republic. Yakima, Wash.: Mar 27, 2009. pg. C.1

(Copyright (c) 2009 Yakima Herald-Republic)

By ROSS COURTNEY

YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

GRANDVIEW -- An investigation continues into a shooting that sent two men to hospitals after what police said was a drug deal gone bad.

Brian K. Quantrell, 29, of Pasco was airlifted to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center with a bullet wound to his chest, said Asst. Police Chief Mark Ware. He was in critical condition Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Ricardo J. Garcia, 19, of Granger remains at Sunnyside Community Hospital with a "fairly significant leg wound," Ware said. He was in fair condition Thursday, said hospital CEO Jon Smiley.

The shooting occurred about 7 p.m. Wednesday on Fir Street, directly in front of Smith Elementary School. Police say both men pulled guns and shot each other over a dispute about a drug deal as they were sitting in the back seat of a Nissan Maxima.

On the school's playfield, a youth soccer team had just finished practice at the time of the shooting. Players, coaches and parents all ducked down onto the ground when they heard the shots, Ware said.

Two women in the front seat of the car ran away when the guns came out, but officers caught them, police said. A patrol officer happened to be a couple blocks away when police received the 9-1-1 call.

A 23-year-old Pasco woman was released Thursday, while a 30-year-old Benton City woman is being held in the Benton County Jail for unrelated warrants, Ware said.

On Wednesday night, police believed one of the men was from Wapato and both women were from Pasco.

"I think one of them was less than truthful," Ware said.

Police recovered two guns, about $1,000 in cash and what they suspect is a golf ball-sized chunk of heroin, Ware said. Police planned to have it tested at a laboratory.

Police are requesting charges against the men for possession with intent to deliver heroin, assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. The Benton City woman may face charges of possession with intent to deliver heroin.

They also plan to seek a warrant to search the car further. Police said the suspected dealers picked the neighborhood only for its convenient location. They have no connection to the community, much less the street, where the shooting took place, police said.

"I don't know why we got unlucky," Ware said.