AUBURN, Wash. — An Auburn man who said he was hearing voices after smoking meth when he went on a highway shooting spree in 2023 was sentenced to prison Friday afternoon.
King County Superior Court Judge Kristin Ballinger imposed a 93-month (just under 8 years) prison sentence that was recommended by prosecutors as part of a plea agreement with 30-year-old Marco Antonio Ramos Valdez.
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Ramos pleaded guilty to one count of assault in the first degree and one count of reckless endangerment.
Troopers described Ramos’ actions on the night of December 6 and morning of December 7, 2023, as an ‘active shooter’ involving multiple reports of vehicles being shot at on interstate freeways in south King County.
One of the bullets struck a man in the neck. The victim was in his car with his pregnant girlfriend, who was not injured.
While the couple did not appear at a sentencing hearing, a victim’s advocate read a statement from them in which they disagreed with the plea agreement.
“For the rest of our lives, we will have to live with the trauma of what happened,” the statement said.
The couple said the bullet was millimeters away from severing the man’s carotid artery.
“For this reason, we request the court impose the maximum sentence,” the couple’s statement said.
While Ramos’ bullets only hit one person, troopers said there were at least six reports of someone shooting at cars on the highway around the same time and in the same area.
The Washington State Patrol identified him as a suspect and began surveilling his home in Auburn, according to court records. He was arrested during a traffic stop the next day.
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Troopers located a handgun on the driver’s side floorboard and loose ammunition in the car, an arrest report states. Investigators said they also located spent shell casings inside the car.
Ramos told police he had been smoking meth and voices in his head told him to drive around and kill people, the report states.
“I think I’m a good person,” Ramos told Judge Ballinger. “What I did, I did because of the drugs, and I will not do drugs again.”
When Ramos completes his prison sentence, he will be under community custody supervision for three years.
