黑料福利社

A medic told Javier Arredondo that if he didn鈥檛 get treatment for the gunshot wound in his neck he would likely die.

Arredondo, a Sunnyside police officer, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and eventually returned to duty after the 2022 incident.

鈥淧eople see me standing here today and think I鈥檓 OK because I survived,鈥� Arredondo said Tuesday at the sentencing of the man who shot him. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 grateful that I did survive, but surviving and being unchanged are two very different things.鈥�

Arredondo related his experiences with PTSD, nightmares and chronic pain as part of his victim鈥檚 statement at the hearing for Alejandro Mario Palomarez, the man who shot him.

Originally charged with first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement for shooting Arredondo, Palomarez, 47, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree assault, with no firearm enhancement.

Attorneys on both sides said the plea agreement, in which they requested that Palomarez spend two years in prison 鈥� more than twice the maximum under state sentencing guidelines 鈥� was a recognition of the risks of trying a man who struggled with mental health issues at the time of the Oct. 10, 2022, incident.

But a Yakima County Superior Court judge decided that two years wasn鈥檛 enough and ordered Palomarez to spend four years in prison.

Officers from Sunnyside, Yakima, Wapato and the Yakima County Sheriff鈥檚 Office packed the gallery of the basement courtroom at the Yakima County jail for the hearing.

What happened

Palomarez shot Arredondo after police were called to his home in the 1400 block of South Eighth Street for a report of shots fired, according to court documents.

A neighbor said Palomarez was firing a gun in his own house, court documents said. Shortly after they arrived, officers heard someone yelling threats inside the house, and then shots rang out as the officers took cover, the documents said.

Arredondo was hit in the neck and taken to Astria Sunnyside Hospital before being flown to Harborview, court documents said.

Arredondo told Judge Shane Silverthorn that he had pulled up in front of the house in a marked police vehicle while wearing a police uniform, and yet Palomarez still shot him through the glass in the house鈥檚 front door.

鈥淚 remember feeling the impact. I remember realizing I had been hit, and I remember the blood running down my neck,鈥� Palomarez said. 鈥淓ven while the gunfire was still active, my instinct was not to focus on myself. I remember telling (the other officers) to not worry about me and, that they needed to focus on what was still happening and that I would try to take care of my injuries myself.鈥�

At one point, Arredondo, who lost his father to gun violence, said he was struck by the thought that he might die there.

That was when Detective Shannel Perry-Strom moved Arredondo out of the line of fire first toward a house to get help and then to medics who were staged nearby. Arredondo said he was appalled that bystanders, instead of rendering any assistance, recorded him on their cellphones.

In addition to Arredondo, a police vehicle and a parked vehicle were also hit by gunfire, court documents said. Officers heard noise at the back of the house and realized Palomarez had left the house, court documents said.

Perry-Strom also wrestled with her own emotional trauma, she told Silverthorn. She was unable to sleep, and when she could, the incident haunted her in her dreams.

鈥淚t took me a while to be able to patrol in that area again,鈥� Perry-Strom said.

Arrested

Yakima SWAT was called in to assist, and Palomarez was found several blocks away and refused to surrender, court documents said. Officers used less-lethal foam projectiles and a police dog to take him into custody, according to the documents.

When he was arrested, Palomarez had two Taurus 9mm handguns, court documents said.

鈥淧eople often tell me I am lucky to be alive. And the truth is, surviving physically was only the beginning. The hardest part has been surviving every day after that,鈥� Arredondo said. 鈥淪ince that night, there has not been a single day where I have not been reminded of what happened. ... I live with chronic pain, numbness, scars that often get mistaken and joked about, and memories that do not go away.鈥�

Arrendondo said he had to take leave from work several times to deal with the mental and emotional issues he was struggling with.

Addressing Palomarez, Arredondo said he is not seeking revenge.

鈥淚 believe people are capable of change,鈥� Arredondo said. 鈥淚 believe compassion and accountability can exist at the same time.鈥�

Recommendation from attorneys

Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Brown and defense attorney Greg Scott presented a joint recommendation for a two-year prison sentence in return for Palomarez鈥檚 guilty plea to second-degree assault.

鈥淚 do believe with all the possible consequences of going to trial, this is the best option,鈥� Brown said.

Two mental health experts evaluated Palomarez and found that he was seeing and hearing things, and had a history of mental health issues. He could have either been acquitted or found not guilty by reason of mental defect and released.

Both Brown and Scott said that Palomarez has not had any more incidents since he was released on bail and is on medication.

Scott said Palomarez鈥檚 history of mental illness was well known to the police. Officers responded to his home several times about people who were breaking in by passing through the walls or the wiring in the house.

Palomarez could have been legally placed in a mental health treatment center, but Scott said that never happened.

And even with that history, Scott said there was a good chance a jury could have also convicted Palomarez and sent him to prison for a far longer time, including a five-year firearm enhancement that could not be reduced through good behavior.

Palomarez told Silverthorn that he had no intention that night to shoot or hurt any of the officers.

鈥淚鈥檓 sorry about what transpired and what happened,鈥� Palomarez said. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful nothing worse happened.鈥�

Police ask for longer sentence

Sunnyside police Chief Robert Layman told Silverthorn that a two-year sentence wasn鈥檛 enough for what happened. Due to Palomarez鈥檚 actions, Layman said he came far too close to having to plan a funeral for one of his officers.

The fact that Palomarez fled the scene was proof that he knew what he had done and that it was wrong, Layman said.

And Arredondo is still struggling with what happened to him that night,聽Layman and Sgt. Jeremy Tucker said.

鈥淕un crimes plague the 黑料福利社. There is no question about that as you sit in courtroom every day and you hear about gun crime,鈥� Layman told Silverthorn. 鈥淚 think the citizens want repercussions for gun crimes, and that they demand it.鈥�

Silverthorn reminded Palomarez that he was not bound by the recommendations in the plea agreement, and the fact that Palomarez agreed to a sentence above the standard range that he had the freedom to impose a sentence anywhere within the statutory range of 10 years.

Palomarez had a prior charge of displaying a firearm dismissed through a diversion in 2021, and Silverthorn said Palomarez was on notice that his behavior was a problem. While Palomarez was found to have depression, he was also voluntarily abusing alcohol that contributed to his psychotic behavior, which Silverthorn said does not go over well with juries.

He described Palomarez鈥檚 conduct as frightening, and said that a four-year sentence was appropriate, followed by a year and a half on community custody.