An Auburn man faces multiple charges after being accused of a May 2024 shooting at a park where over 90 rounds were fired and two people were injured.
On July 24, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) charged Guillermo Sanchez-Romero, 18, with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of drive-by shooting and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. According to court documents, these charges stem from a May 19, 2024, incident at Issac Evans Park in Auburn, where Sanchez-Romero is accused of shooting at a group of partygoers and a vehicle about 28 to 30 times, striking two women, before he chased the vehicle and crashed.
According to KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney, Sanchez-Romero also has an ongoing third-degree rape case in juvenile court that he pleaded not guilty to in September 2024. McNerthney said at the time, the court was told Sanchez-Romero was doing well with probation in Idaho, and he was out of custody. McNerthney said a juvenile probation counselor recommended to the court that Sanchez-Romero remain out of custody.
According to the King County Adult and Juvenile Detention jail lookup portal, Sanchez-Romero was arrested at 1:24 p.m. July 22, and then booked into the Maleng Regional Justice Center at 6:42 p.m. July 22, and is being held on a $1 million bail. His next court hearing is an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 7, where Sanchez-Romero will enter a plea.
Details of the incident
At about 8:14 p.m. May 14, 2024, Auburn police responded to reports of gunfire at Isaac Evans Park, 29827 Green River Road SE, Auburn. Documents state that witnesses reported a shootout involving multiple people and vehicles that fled the scene.
According to documents, over 90 rounds were fired during the incident. Damage to nearby vehicles and property was reported.
Witnesses saw a Cadillac ATS stop on Green River Road, in front of the park, and a male, identified as Sanchez-Romero, exited the vehicle. Documents also state that Romero subsequently began firing toward partygoers at the park, which led to an exchange of gunfire from individuals at the park. Sanchez-Romero also shot at a Ford Escape that was attempting to leave the parking lot.
One of the women who was injured was sitting in her parked car as her child played at the nearby playground when she was shot in her legs. The other woman suffered a gunshot wound to her inner thigh, documents state.
According to documents, the Cadillac ATS that Sanchez-Romero was riding in then began to pursue the Ford Escape southbound on Green River Road, resulting in a high-speed chase. Officers later found both vehicles had crashed and had sustained visible gunfire damage.
Documents state that after crashing, witnesses saw Sanchez-Romero and two other females in the vehicle flee on foot through a neighborhood and then jump a fence into a wooded area.
A photo strip taken at about 3:30 p.m. at the Outlet Collection Mall in Auburn was found in the Cadillac ATS, which contained photos of Sanchez-Romero and one of the females who fled with him. Subsequently, officers found clothes in the vehicle that matched those worn by Sanchez-Romero in the photos, according to the documents.
According to documents, one of the women who fled with Sanchez-Romero was heard on a jail call stating that her vehicle, a Cadillac ATS, was used in criminal acts when she had been shot at, but the shooters had no aim. Documents state that she then said she was making efforts to avoid detection by law enforcement, such as changing her phone number and deactivating her Instagram account, following the incident.
In the jail calls, the female revealed both personal and gang-related motivations for targeting the people at the park. Documents state that she voiced hostility toward the family that they shot at, identifying them as part of a rival gang. Additionally, she discussed her past gang associations and demonstrated an understanding of ongoing gang conflicts, supporting the theory that the attack was motivated in part by a gang rivalry, documents state.
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