UPDATE: December 4 at 6:00 p.m.
Chaparro pleaded not guilty in court today.
He is scheduled to return to court for a trial readiness hearing on January 5 before his trial on January 26.
SPOKANE, Wash. – A Monday morning shooting near East Pacific Avenue and South Division Street resulted in the death of one man. The suspect, Randy Chaparro, 33, was arrested and made his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon.
According to a witness who knew both the victim and Chaparro, the suspect reportedly expressed multiple times a desire to kill someone.
Spokane Police reported that the witness was preparing to hug the victim when Chaparro allegedly pulled out a turquoise handgun and shot him. Court documents reveal that Chaparro then appeared to rummage through the victim’s pockets before leaving the scene.
Officers arrived shortly after and transported the victim to Sacred Heart with life-threatening injuries, where he later died.
During Chaparro’s court appearance on Tuesday afternoon, he seemed relaxed, even yawning and stretching, until the victim’s mother addressed the court.
“I would like to share with the court that my son was an innocent man and he didn’t deserve to be murdered by this person and I think he should pay the consequences for this action. He’s a violent person,” the victim’s mother said.
The exact motive behind the shooting remains unknown. Officers located Chaparro at the Ridpath Apartments after being spotted by the manager.
Chaparro faces charges of second-degree murder and an additional firearm charge. Notably, he bonded out on the firearm charge on November 24, just a week before this shooting incident.
Due to this charge, Chaparro’s extensive criminal history and 40 failures to appear in court, prosecutors requested a $5 million dollar bond, which a judge granted.
ORIGINAL COVERAGE: December 2 at 9:45 p.m.
