AUBURN — Court proceedings are on hold for a teenager accused of shooting and killing a man in Auburn before fleeing to Oregon, as his lawyers fight his extradition back to Washington to stand trial.
Video footage from May 30 showed 16-year-old Jesus Castaneda-Peraza left his school and drove to a parking lot just off Auburn Way South and waited for his girlfriend to drive by. The teen then drove from the parking lot to chase 20-year-old Fabian Gonzalez’s car and pulled up next to him at an intersection. Castaneda-Perez then allegedly fired three shots at Gonzalez through the passenger’s side window at near point-blank range.
The girlfriend proceeded to get into the car with Castaneda-Perez and fled to Oregon. They were arrested the next day.
Castaneda-Perez now faces charges for first degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm, with a sentence that would range between 26 and 34 years in prison.
He was due in court in Washington on Wednesday, but his legal team is pushing back against his extradition from Oregon. That process could take up to 90 days to resolve according to a court officer.
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