Fish and Wildlife Officer shot at

returnofthefish · Post by **returnofthefish** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:44 pm

Two charged after shots fired at wildlife officer
The Spokesman-Review

An 18-year-old Mattawa man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, after shooting at a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife police captain Saturday in Grant County.

Jose J. Garcia-Meraze is being held in Grant County Jail on $1 million bail, along with his 60-year-old father, Nicholas Garcia-Godinez, who drew a knife on another WDFW officer. Garcia-Godinez has been charged with second-degree assault and is being held on $100,000 bail.

The men, who made a preliminary appearance today in Grant County Superior Court, are to be formally arraigned next week. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also placed holds on both men.

The two were arrested Saturday evening, following a vehicle pursuit by WDFW and the Washington State Patrol on State Route 28 near Ephrata.

The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Saturday when an officer was checking anglers at Crab Creek, a popular fishing area near Beverly in Grant County. The officer contacted Garcia-Meraze, who had been fishing but did not have a license, according to police reports.

As the officer was escorting the suspect back to his vehicle to confirm whether he had purchased a license, Garcia-Meraze drew a gun and pointed it at the officer, according to police. His father also approached the officer, brandishing a knife, police reports said.

Garcia-Meraze escaped in a car. During the pursuit, he turned his vehicle around and drove toward Anderson’s marked police vehicle, firing shots and penetrating the driver’s side door with one round, according to police reports. An officer returned fire after the suspect attempted to shoot at him a second time, police said.

After a pursuit of several miles, the suspect was apprehended after his car stalled on State Route 28 near Ephrata.

The incident is being investigated by the Columbia Basin Investigative Team, a regional law-enforcement consortium. Investigations are routinely conducted following police use of force involving firearms.

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This is nuts that these officers who are out there to protect the fish and wildlife from poachers are shot at. I have a new appreciation for these officers. An armed officer had checked my license before, but I never thought that they would have to use it against another person. This is also another reminder that you dont know if the guy next to you has a loaded gun or not. Thats why I didnt ask the guys if they knew the dock owner or not in my other thread.

pilchuck · Post by **pilchuck** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:21 pm

Sounds like a couple of guy's who didn't want to go back to Mexico!! There's many places I fish and hunt over in E. Wa that in the recent years I've been pretty leary about and no longer go. Places that always have been (safe) but are no longer! Sucks to loose USA soil and the freedom to enjoy our outdoors to parasites!

Iamfishing · Post by **Iamfishing** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:48 am

whatt!!damn,...i hope its not the wild life officer i know.damn if i was there,i would have had the wild life officers back to the fullest.who is going to shoot a wild life officer really?like that is lame.well i hope who ever the peoples is that did that have a fun time in the pen punks man.people now days wt%

reigndawgs · Post by **reigndawgs** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:04 am

If there is one thing that is clear to me in this world, it is that the WDFW officers are the good guys. I NEVER break any fishing regs no matter how tempting because those laws are there for good reason in my opinion. I would be quite surprised if these guys don't end up being wanted for more than poaching.

scott080379 · Post by **scott080379** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 9:08 am

This is just sad.

I hope this will put more heat on all fishing locations now.

Post by **Stacie Kelsey** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 9:14 am

Our Officers deal with some pretty tough situations on a regular basis. I'm glad the Captain is okay.

stace

Post by **racfish** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 1:43 pm

I've fished Crab Creek and Rocky Ford . At Rocky its all Fly fishing only and C&R only. Crab Creek I though youre allowed a 1 fish retention.Game Wardens are like the Police or any LE personell. That means talking with respect and following the rules.Officers are the people that others love and hate at the same time.Anyone who goes into the LE field dserves the utmost respect.Ifin anyone messes with Stacie then those poor idiots will have to deal with a lot of angry fisherpeople especially on this site.Were with you Stacie!!!!!Tell the Captain we wish him well.

Post by **Stacie Kelsey** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:11 pm

I'm lucky to get to work with the Officers on a regular basis. They help out when I've encountered some rowdy anglers. 99% of the anglers I deal with are super cool though, so I've been lucky there as well!

fishaholictaz · Post by **fishaholictaz** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:36 pm

pilchuck wrote:Sounds like a couple of guy's who didn't want to go back to Mexico!! Sucks to loose USA soil and the freedom to enjoy our outdoors to parasites!

Pretty racist post and I find it offensive. Doesn't matter where they were from they probably didn't want to go to jail.... More white trash guys then bad hispanics in my observations of E WA.

Website · Post by **The Quadfather** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:47 pm

fishaholictaz wrote:
pilchuck wrote:Sounds like a couple of guy's who didn't want to go back to Mexico!! Sucks to loose USA soil and the freedom to enjoy our outdoors to parasites!
Pretty racist post and I find it offensive. Doesn't matter where they were from they probably didn't want to go to jail.... More white trash guys then bad hispanics in my observations of E WA.

Yes, I agree... I think that you are painting with a broad brush stroke.

Post by **Mike Carey** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:38 pm

earlier comment deleted due to request of several members.

Pradeep · Post by **Pradeep** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:49 pm

I will never understand why someone would attempt to take an innocent person's life and destroy the lives of so many others for what? Maybe a 100.00 ticket?
It's no wonder that the son is such a tool, look at dear ol dad. Fingers are crossed that these 2 idiots get lots of time behind bars (unlikely, but one can hope).

smokum · Post by **smokum** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:18 am

Hope they get a free ride back across the border too.

Notice that ICE has a hold on 'em too. I bet they didn't have their Green cards either.

Inflammatory statement??? Naw, just the facts ma'am.

Same crap happened to an Arizona game officer just this spring. He was checking for licenses and three illegals assaulted him leaving him with broken ribs and bruises. They all were taken down by bystanders and ICE was called in.

The whole issue in Grant County was probably more about illegal presence in our country than fishing!

Northwest Fishing Reports

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