YAKIMA, Wash.-A 36-year-old Wapato man was sentenced to 37 years in prison for the brutal New Year’s Day 2021 killing of a woman in Yakima and head-on crash that killed another driver.
Luberto Rodriguez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, vehicular homicide and vehicular assault on March 11.
According to Yakima County Superior Court documents, Rodriguez attacked and killed Rocio Ramos-Martinez near the intersection of S. 9th Avenue and Chestnut Avenue, then kidnapped the couple’s daughter before causing a wrong-way head-on collision that killed Alfred Anaya and injured his wife.
The crime was reported by witnesses and Rodriguez’s attack was caught on nearby security cameras.
Rodriguez broke out the window of Ramos-Martinez’s car, crawled inside and assaulted her, stabbing her with a box cutter before pulling her out of the car.
According to court documents, Rodriguez then dragged Ramos-Martinez out of the car and beat her to the ground before stomping on her head multiple times.
Rodriguez then put the couple’s daughter in his truck and ran over Ramos-Martinez, backed up and drove over her again before leaving the scene.
Ramos-Martinez was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center where she later died from the injuries she sustained in the attack.
Police confirmed that Rodriguez was the suspect and were on the way to his home in Wapato when the State Patrol responded to a head-on wrong-way crash on SR 97 outside Wapato.
Rodriguez was driving southbound in the northbound lanes of SR 97 without his headlights on when he hit an oncoming car. Alfred Anaya, who was in the other car died in the crash and his wife was injured.
According to the narrative of the crime compiled in court documents, investigators spoke with Rodriguez’s sister at the scene of the crash and she confirmed that he dropped his daughter off with him and admitted that he’d done something he regretted and intended to kill himself by crashing his car.
