Two men in custody for shooting, beating in Dryden

Two Wenatchee area men are in custody for an assault on a man in Dryden on Friday, Sept. 27. On that day, Chelan County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported disturbance on Josephine Avenue in Dryden shortly before 2 p.m. 

Someone there reported a man was beaten with a bat and shot in the leg. The victim and witness told deputies the assailants were Michael Hernandez, 34, of East Wenatchee and Modesto Gonzalez, 42, of Wenatchee. 

Chelan County Chief Jason Reinfeld said the two men were in Dryden to commit the assault. It is not known why the men allegedly committed the assault. 

“We’re still following up the loose ends on that. There’s still a lot of detective work. The two suspects are in custody, but there is a large amount of follow up on the incident,” Reinfeld said. 

It was too early too say if this was drug related. Reinfeld did say the victim did know Hernandez and Gonzalez. When the call first came in, it was thought the suspects were on foot. Unbeknownst to the deputies arriving, the pair had left in a vehicle prior. 

For a time, U.S. Highway 2 was blocked and Cashmere schools were put in a lockdown. 

“The trailer sits pretty close to the highway. For a few minutes, it was thought the suspect vehicle was still on scene and they might have been on foot. We closed off that section of the roadway for public safety,” Reinfeld said. “Following up on leads, there was a residence in Cashmere we wanted to check, once we got a suspect vehicle. We wanted to check to see if that one was there. We had the helicopter deployed at that point. It was close enough to the school that Cashmere was put on lockdown.”

Reinfeld said they became aware Hernandez and Gonzalez had left the area after about 15 minutes or so. One more resident from the neighborhood told deputies they saw a vehicle leave. The pair left in a white Lexus. 

The next day, Sept. 28, Chelan County Deputies and Detectives located the white Lexus abandoned in south Wenatchee. The car was seized by detectives. On Sept. 29, detectives and the Washington State Crime Lab Response Team executed a search warrant on the car. Results from that are still pending. 

On Oct. 1, detectives learned of a possible location for Hernandez in the Palisades. After surveilling the residence, they saw Hernandez leave in a vehicle. A high risk vehicle stop was performed and Hernandez was taken into custody without incident. His car was also seized. 

On Oct. 3, detectives discovered a possible location for Gonzalez in East Wenatchee. After some surveillance, they saw him leave in a vehicle. Another high risk stop was performed and he was taken into custody without incident. 

Reinfield said they were able to track down the men by checking locations where they could be. 

“It was continual follow up and investigation. They were able to determine possible locations. Through surveillance, they saw them leave the residence,” Reinfeld said. 

The two men are known to law enforcement, he said. They have been charged with 1st degree burglary, 1st degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm and intimidating a witness. 

The burglary charge, Reinfeld said, comes along with the assault, even though nothing was taken from the residence. 

“The burglary is entering and remaining unlawfully in the residence with intent to commit a crime. The crime committed would be the assault. With burglary, it is not necessarily taking items from the house. When you assault and break into a house, you have the burglary as well,” Reinfeld said. 

The fact there is an unlawful possession of a firearm charge, it means one or both of the men is a felon. As for intimidation of a witness, the two allegedly threatened a witness to the crime. 

Both Gonzalez and Hernandez are being held in Chelan County Regional Justice Center in Wenatchee. 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.