This 13-year-old was shot and killed at a Kennewick home. His mother wants justice
Sandra Ramirez wants justice for her son.
The 13-year-old died after being shot in a southeast Kennewick home three weeks ago. He was at the house with two other teens but because of the ongoing police investigation, little has been released about what likely happened.
Joseph Martinez’s grieving mom is distraught over how little has been done and why someone isn’t charged yet with her son’s death.
The middle school student loved helping people and often shared stories of what his friends at school were going through.
But since he never talked about these boys, who are 13 and 14, Sandra Ramirez questions how well he knew them.
“This was not an accident,” Ramirez told the Tri-City Herald. “These are not my son’s friends. ... I’ve met my son’s friends and I’ve never met these boys.”
Kennewick police were called shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, about a shooting at a house on the 200 block of Canyon Drive.
They reported finding Joseph wounded with a single shot that struck him in the neck. The two other teens were with him. It’s unclear if he was inside or outside the house or if anyone else was home with the teens at the time.
Joseph was rushed to a local hospital but died overnight.
While police have released no other information about the other teens, Ramirez said one boy lived at the home and the other, like her son, was visiting.
All three attended Horse Heaven Hills Middle School, she said.
She has heard from other parents with kids at the school that the gun belonged to the people living at the home, and that the other boy who was visiting was the one who pulled the trigger.
Police won’t confirm those details but have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.
Benton County Coroner Bill Leach has ruled that the shooting was a homicide. He said that means one person shot another and that Joseph didn’t shoot himself but it doesn’t mean someone committed a crime.
Homicides can include accidental or justified shootings, such as hunting accidents, officer-involved shootings or even incidents of self-defense.
Kennewick Commander Isaac Merkl told the Herald this week that detectives are continuing to investigate and are waiting for laboratory test results before their reports are finished.
“We’re asking everyone to be patient,” Merkl said. “In any case with juveniles, it takes a quite a bit of investigative work to make sure we know what occurred.”
He explained that investigations involving juveniles, whether witnesses or suspects, can take longer to complete as Washington law prevents officers from taking statements from anyone underage without their attorney present.
And it’s rare for attorneys to allow their clients to talk freely with the police, Merkl said.
Still, he said he expects detectives to have their reports finished soon and forwarded to Benton County prosecutors to make the final determination on whether someone should be charged with a crime.
A frantic search
Joseph was a popular boy who loved being outdoors, said his mom. He played basketball and flag football. He loved fishing, swimming and camping.
“My son was just a very loving and caring and trusting person,” she said. “He didn’t judge anyone. ... He was just a very goofy kid.”
The single mother of two works as a caretaker. The day of the shooting she arrived home about 5 p.m. and Joseph wasn’t home from school.
At the time, she wasn’t worried because he sometimes missed the school bus because he was talking with friends. He usually would catch a Ben Franklin Transit bus home instead.
She left to take her daughter to her school concert, believing Joseph would be home by 5:45 p.m.
When Ramirez and her daughter returned home, he wasn’t back, and she knew something was wrong.
“My son was always here before dark,” she said.
She contacted her son’s best friend and learned the boys were together near the school earlier in the afternoon. His friend told Ramirez that Joseph then left with two other boys and they were going to the Canyon Drive house.
The Ramirezes live about four miles from that home and she did not know how he got there.
Making frantic calls, she managed to learn through other students and parents that Joseph had been shot and was at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.
She’s still upset that she had to find out that way before the police called.
“They were talking to me on the phone as I was already going to the hospital,” she said. “My son was already there ... by the time they called me.”
Searching for answers
Ramirez said police are suggesting the shooting is accidental, and she fears they’ve given up listening to her and other parents who believe they have information to share about the shooting and the other teens. She believes her son was intentionally shot and killed.
Joseph was not the type to be in trouble, she said. She maintains he would have left the house if he had seen the gun.
“I’m emotional,” Ramirez said. “How could this happen. ... This is the only way I can share my son’s story. ... They took my son away from me. It was not my son’s time to leave.”
Ramirez said parents with information about the shooting have reached out to her. She feels like there are more details that investigators are not taking seriously.
She’s also upset that the parents of the other boys involved have not contacted her about the death of her son.
“I want to prevent this from happening to any other children,” Ramirez said. “If anyone has any information contact me or contact the police. ... I want to help Joseph get justice for what happened.”
