Felipe Tapia-Perez, Firearm Offenses, Washington 2022

Felipe Tapia-Perez, a 29-year-old Othello man, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for his role in the homicide of a four-year-old child.

The child’s death occurred on February 27, 2021, during a domestic dispute between Tapia-Perez and his intimate partner in a vehicle parked outside her residence in Othello, Washington. Tapia-Perez was holding a stolen firearm, which discharged and struck the child in the head. The child was driven to the Othello Community Hospital, where they passed away.

Tapia-Perez pled guilty on October 27, 2022, to being an Unlawful Alien in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of a Stolen Firearm. The sentence was handed down by Senior United States District Judge William Fremming Nielsen.

According to court documents, the firearm used in the incident was one of eleven stolen during a residential burglary in Spokane County, Washington, on February 24, 2021. Tapia-Perez purchased the stolen firearm shortly after.

In announcing today’s sentence, Judge Nielsen expressed the seriousness of the case: ‘You should not have had a firearm. The firearm was loaded. You were in an argument with a woman you are prohibited by a no-contact order from being with, but you were with her anyway. You were waiving a firearm around, and it resulted in tragedy. The tragedy could not have been worse.’

Tapia-Perez will also serve three years of supervised release after his release from confinement. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Othello Police Department, the Moses Lake Police Department, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, and the Washington State Patrol.

Felipe Tapia-Perez is 29 years old from Othello, Washington.

Crime: Being an Unlawful Alien in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of a Stolen Firearm.

City and State: Othello, Washington.

Exact Date: October 27, 2022 (sentencing date).

Sentence or Outcome: 168 months in federal prison, concurrent with an 86-month sentence for manslaughter in the first degree imposed by the Adams County, Washington, Superior Court, followed by three years of supervised release.

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