A 22-year-old Chehalis man was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison last week for his role in the shooting of two people in Centralia in May 2023.
Dayton L. Keyes pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon on Jan. 30, just prior to his sentencing. He had been scheduled to begin trial on Feb. 16.
Judge Paul Strophy accepted the plea and imposed the sentence.
Keyes was initially charged with two counts of first-degree assault for the alleged shootings of Brandon Nino and Jennifer Garduno-Luna. Both charges were punishable by up to life in prison.
With his plea deal, Keyes faced a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count, though his standard sentence range listed 43 months at the high end — the total amount of time Keyes was ultimately sentenced to.
Standard sentence ranges are calculated based on the defendant’s criminal history and the severity of the crime — in this case the amended second-degree assault charges.
Along with prison time, Keyes must also serve 18 months of community custody. He is prohibited from contacting the two victims for 10 years.
In his filed guilty plea statement, Keyes admitted to assaulting both Nino and Garduno-Luna “with a firearm,” but did not specify whether he fired the weapon.
According to court documents, Keyes’s criminal history includes two convictions for escape from community custody and one for third-degree assault, all occurring within the last five years.
Keyes made his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Oct. 8, 2025, nearly two and a half years after the shooting. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment the next day.
In May 2023, Brandon Nino and Jennifer Garduno-Luna were driving on Oxford Avenue in Centralia when they were ambushed by gunfire from four teenagers crossing the street.
Francisco Nino-Villanueva, who was expecting their arrival to his house, attempted to drive the two gunshot victims to the hospital. He crashed his car on the way there.
A Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived and transported all three to the hospital.
During their initial investigation, Centralia police discovered 24 9-mm casings from two different brands and four 40-mm casings at the scene of the shooting. They later identified four suspects.
But no charges were filed.
In January 2025, detectives spoke with a source who allegedly provided statements only law enforcement would know.
That source confirmed the supposed identities of the four suspects. He said only three guns were used, which corresponded with the detectives’ findings. The source reportedly told detectives that the suspects divulged what had happened just a day or so after the shooting.
One of those suspects, Vincent A. Rhoades, 18, of Centralia, was charged with two counts of first-degree assault in February 2025. On July 2, 2025, he made a virtual preliminary court appearance from the Green Hill School, where he was incarcerated.
Rhoades pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on Aug. 28, 2025. He is scheduled to appear in Lewis County Superior Court for a trial-setting hearing on April 2.
Another suspect, Ronnie Mercado, 25, of Pasco, was also charged with two counts of first-degree assault in February 2025.
Though Mercado has yet to make an appearance in Lewis County Superior Court, court records indicate he is currently serving a multi-year sentence out of Benton County for first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and third-degree assault.
He is currently scheduled to make a preliminary appearance in Lewis County on March 3.
During Keyes's preliminary hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson asked the court to maintain the $500,000 bail amount set in Keyes’ arrest warrant. Defense attorney Rachael Tiller responded that Keyes had an alibi and would maintain he was not involved.
“I'm not seeing anything linking Keyes to this case other than finger pointing,” Tiller said at the time, referring to the prosecutor’s declaration of probable cause.
