The man who shot and killed a 20-year-old stranger before stealing his vehicle at the Federal Way Crossings shopping plaza in 2021 has been found guilty of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.
A King County jury on Nov. 18 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, found Leonel Gonzalez, 38, who resided in Tacoma, guilty of first-degree murder while committing and attempting to commit the crime of first-degree robbery and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
The charges arose during the Dec. 8, 2021, incident in which Gonzalez shot and killed 20-year-old Ruvim Stukov in the Crossings parking lot, pulled his body out of the vehicle, left him on the ground, and then stole his car. Gonzalez will be sentenced on Jan 8, 2025.
The state, headed by King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Brent Kling, argued that this was a murder done in the furtherance of a robbery. Gonzalez’s defense counsel, headed by Tamarra Gaffney, argued that Stukov had died, but there was nothing that could prove that a robbery had occurred.
Closing arguments
Prosecutor Kling said that on Dec. 8, 2021, Stukov would make the 40-minute drive to his church in Edgewood, where he would have a music practice, spend time with friends, and then make his way to the Federal Way Crossings to get food, stopping at Panda Express as he often did. Kling said that after Stukov parked in the Crossings in front of Menchies, video footage shows Gonzalez walking toward Stukov in his vehicle and then firing at Stukov, subsequently stealing his car and leaving his body behind.
Kling said the next day, Gonzalez was found and arrested, and he possessed items belonging to Stukov. Later in the day, Kling said, Stukov’s vehicle was found, and a license plate and a glove with Gonzlaez’s fingerprints on them were found inside it.
When Gonzalez was found, he had been wearing the same clothes that bus footage had shown he was wearing the day prior and during the shooting.
“You know that when someone approaches somebody else sitting in a car, stands over the seated driver, yells at them from the outside of the car, pulls a firearm, and points it down to the driver’s side of the car, they are conveying just as much with their actions as they would with their words,” Kling said. “The message is, ‘I’m in control, and this gun I have pointed at you ensures that.’”
Kling said that Gonzalez’s use of force allowed him to take anything he wanted from Stukov, including the vehicle. Kling told the jury that they knew Gonzalez took property from Stukov and did so using force, but it needed to be established that this was done with the intent to commit theft.
Kling said someone acts with intent when they mean to do something. Kling said that all that is needed for this definition to be fulfilled is that in the moment prior to firing the final fatal shot, Gonzalez intended to take property from him.
Defense attorney Gaffney said the state was jumping to conclusions. Gaffney said the state spent a lot of time talking about who and how the killing happened, but they would not explore why, which ultimately becomes the critical fault in the state’s case, and why they cannot overcome the burden of proof, she said.
Gaffney said the defense has no burden of proof and does not have to present to the jury why a certain crime didn’t happen. Gaffney said the state has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that something happened and that every element of that crime happened. She said that reasonable doubt can arise not just from evidence provided, such as an alibi, but also from a lack of evidence.
Gaffney said the specific charge that Gonzalez is charged with does not only accuse him of murder, but it also accuses him of robbery in the first degree. Gaffney said that the state could not prove that happened, so they were jumping to conclusions. She added that there were many pieces of evidence that the state did not investigate, such as retrieving more video footage of the incident, testing other DNA evidence found in the car, or investigating whose car key Gonzalez had on him when he was arrested, as he said he did not own a car, and he did not have a driver’s license.
“Looking at Mr. Gonzalez’s specific circumstances also shows that there is no purpose for a robbery. Mr. Gonzalez did not need a car,” Gaffney said. “He had a car key and multiple bus tickets.”
Gaffney said that although Gonzalez had Stukov’s debit card, he did not need it and did not use it, and he did not need money as he had just bought a cellphone. Gaffney said nothing shows there was a reason to take from Stukov other than freaking out and fleeing after the escalated incident.
In his rebuttal to the defense’s closing, Kling reiterated that the evidence shows that Gonzalez committed the murder ultimately to steal from Stukov. He added that the position that Stukov died, but there is no evidence to prove a robbery, does not hold up.
“Someone did a bad thing and didn’t want to tell the cops about it. That’s what this was summed up as. This wasn’t a bad thing, this was murder,” Kling said. “It was murder committed in the course of a robbery. It was murder and robbery committed by Mr. Gonzalez. It was murder and robbery committed by Mr. Gonzalez when he was armed with a firearm. Because you know that, and the evidence supports that, you know the only verdict you can find is that Mr. Gonzalez is guilty.”
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