YAKIMA, Wash. - Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic said he will not be charging the man who shot and killed another man at a dog park last February.
Brusic said he consulted with colleagues at the prosecutor's office and believed the shooter acted in self-defense.
Daniel Ortega, 22, was shot and killed at the Randall Dog Park on February 5, 2023. According to Brusic, Ortega was acting erratically at the park, shouting at people and was later found to have taken several drugs, including meth, fentanyl and others. Witnesses reported seeing Ortega begin to argue with a man, who was at the park with his child. According to witnesses, Ortega was acting "extremely erratic and aggressive" and at some point, believed the child with the man was actually his son. Brusic said the man felt threatened, pulled out a gun and shot Ortega.
Brusic said due to the facts presented to him and after talking to witnesses, he decided he could not prove anything but self-defense in the killing of Ortega. Brusic said he found the man who shot Ortega used "no more force than reasonably necessary."
Brusic also said the State of Washington is a "no duty to retreat" state, which means a person can stand their ground and protect themselves if they feel threatened.
It is lawful for a person who is in a place where that person has a right to be and who has reasonable grounds for believing that he is being attacked to stand his ground and defend against such attack by the use of lawful force. The law does not impose a duty to retreat. -- Washington Pattern Jury Instruction (WPIC) 16.08
In February of 2023, Apple Valley News Now's Emily Goodell talked with people who knew Ortega and said they were shocked at what had happened.
“Was it justifiable? Or did my friend get killed for his mental stability?” Terrence Niles said.
Goodell will have much more on this story, coming up tonight at 4:30 and 8 p.m. on Apple Valley News Now.
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