Suspect in 2014 fatality is back to face charges
By Terry Murry on Monday, October 24th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – Walla Walla County now has temporary custody of a suspect in a fatal 2014 shooting that occurred in Walla Walla. Clemente Garcia Cerda, 26, is serving a sentence at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario for a 2017 shooting in Milton-Freewater.
Cerda is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Salvador Gonzalez Urincho, 28, on Dec. 5, 2014, at an apartment in Walla Walla. He was transported to Walla Walla earlier this month and arraigned Oct. 17. He entered a plea of not guilty. His trial is set to begin Nov. 29.
According to court documents, Gonzalez Urincho was visiting his cousin at an apartment on the 200 block of North Fifth Avenue when two men knocked on the door. A witness told police the men were wearing hoodies and wore bandanas across their faces. After speaking to the men, Gonzalez Urincho pushed the door closed. Shots were then fired through the door striking him. He was transported to Providence St. Mary Medical Center where he later died.
Both Cerda and another man were contacted the day of Gonzalez Urincho’s murder by police. Both denied involvement in the death. An investigation by the Walla Walla Police Department turned up information on Facebook referencing Cerda and the other man’s possible involvement in the slaying. Following contact by an officer on the day of the shooting, Cerda removed his Facebook posts.
Shortly after the shooting happened, two separate informants told police that both Cerda and the other man told them they shot and killed Gonzalez Urincho. One informant said Cerda and the other man went to see Gonzalez Urincho to rob him of his drugs, the other informant was told that Gonzalez Urincho was shot over a drug deal.
Walla Walla County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Nagle said once his office is finished prosecuting Cerda, he will be returned to Oregon to finish his Oregon sentence. Then, if convicted in Walla Walla County, Cerda will be transferred to Washington State Department of Corrections to serve his sentence there.
