On the morning of September 26, 2020, Joshua R. Gibson, 39, drove his silver vehicle to the Riverfront Hotel in Richland, Washington, to visit a man in one of the rooms. Surveillance footage showed Jonathan M. Rodriguez, 27, wearing a full face mask and a gun at his side, walk with Gibson down a ramp toward a black Chevrolet Tahoe occupied by Rodriguez and Michael G. Cook, 43. An argument and a struggle occurred; two gunshots were heard. Officers arriving at about 10:20 a.m. found Gibson in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was unable to speak and died at the scene.

Cook was detained about 45 minutes later during an unrelated traffic stop; Rodriguez fled, prompting a warrant and a search. Prosecutors charged both men for their roles in Gibson’s death. Gibson’s family said he was kind and caring and had been helping someone fix a car that day. Did anyone see Gibson or the Tahoe in the hotel lot that morning who hasn’t spoken to investigators?