A 21-year-old man will serve a three-year prison sentence after an armed drunken tear through the Richland Home Depot parking lot.
Damyen J. Cardenas of Richland threatened several people with a .40 caliber Glock handgun in October 2023, before handing his gun over to a woman outside the store and walking in.
He later found the gun at the customer service counter and pulled the trigger twice while the weapon was pointed at the store's assistant manager. It didn't have any bullets in it.
He pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court to three counts of second-degree assault. In two of the assault charges, he also admitted to using a deadly weapon, which adds time to his sentence.
This was a step down from the first-degree assault charges he originally faced.
Deputy Prosecutor Taylor Anderson said in court documents that Cardenas never fired the gun, and it would be hard to show that he intended to "inflict great bodily harm," which is a requirement for the charge. The victims agreed to the change.
Ramirez faces up three years and three months up to three years and eight months in prison.
Anderson recommended the low-end of the sentencing range. She noted the sentence is a significant time in prison for someone as young as Cardenas without any criminal record, according to court documents.
Judge Diana Ruff followed the sentencing recommendation.
Gun at Home Depot
Cardenas had the gun in hand as he approached the Home Depot from the nearby Fairchild Cinemas about 6 p.m. on Oct. 25, 2023.
As he walked across the Home Depot parking lot, he pointed the pistol at a couple in a parked car. He racked the slide of the gun while demanding they get out of the vehicle, court documents said.
When they got out, he told them, "It's not you, it's me," before walking toward the store's entrance, police said in a Facebook post at the time.
He broke out the windows of a different parked car as he walked toward the store's entrance. He then threw the magazine onto the ground, breaking it and scattering the rounds. Police found 21 bullets on the ground, documents said.
At some point, Cardenas pointed the gun at a customer and her child, but ended up handing the gun over to the woman.
She took the gun to a customer service desk and hid it, while employees called police.
Cardenas came into the store a short time later and lingered around the customer service desk while acting "obviously distraught."
Several employees said he was asking about his gun and ammo. He ended up discovering it hidden under the customer service counter. He racked the slide again and pointed the gun at several people, according to investigators.
Store security video showed Cardenas pointing the gun at the store's assistant manager and pulling the trigger, said the court documents. Initially, police said he'd allegedly tried firing twice at the manager.
When the gun didn't fire, Cardenas slammed it on the ground and walked outside, as the manager then picked it up.
Richland police, along with Benton County sheriff's deputies and West Richland police officers, surrounded the store, and found Cardenas outside with his hands up near the entrance.
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