A late-night shooting inside a Moses Lake home left 21-year-old Thomas Hernandez dead from a single gunshot to his upper body on May 2, 2016. Deputies from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office found Hernandez inside a residence on Neppel Road Northeast after a woman called emergency dispatch reporting the shooting at her home. The woman said her son, Jesse James, 23, had shot an unknown man; another man who had been asleep in the house also found Hernandez wounded and said James told him Hernandez was going to rob them and had kicked the door in.

James was arrested and faced possible charges including unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence. He told investigators Hernandez had tried to take a gun from his waistband earlier and alleged Hernandez was breaking into the home when he was shot. Deputies recovered unfired 9mm bullets, pistol magazines and a fired slug during a search, but did not locate a 9mm pistol or any expended cartridge casings. The investigation was ongoing and prosecutors were weighing formal charges.