In the early morning hours of October 30, 2021, Jose Guillermo Cantu, 34, known as Joey, was shot in an alley off West Chestnut Avenue in Yakima, Washington. A frantic 911 call reported that he and a friend had been shot at from a car; officers found Cantu unconscious with severe gunshot wounds and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but he died at the scene. His death was ruled a homicide.

Surveillance footage captured a dispute moments before the shooting between Cantu, another individual, and occupants of a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser; that footage became central to the investigation. On November 18, 2021, an arrest warrant named 17-year-old Salomon De Alba as a suspect in the shooting, described as the driver and believed to be hiding in the Yakima or Tacoma area. In May 2022 an 18-year-old man was arrested and confessed during interrogation to involvement in Cantu’s October killing; he was booked on first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and drive-by shooting charges.

De Alba later pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and in April 2024 was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in Joey’s death. Anyone who knew Joey, saw the PT Cruiser, or has information about the dispute in that alley is asked to come forward.