LYNNWOOD — Twin brothers Frank Ramos-Vasquez and Fred Ramos-Vasquez, both 19, were arrested Friday evening after allegedly opening fire on a 17-year-old boy during an argument in a crowded Starbucks parking lot in Lynnwood, according to police reports and court documents.
On Wednesday, June 16, Snohomish County Prosecutors charged both brothers with First Degree Assault with a Firearm with intent to cause great bodily harm or death under RCW 9A.36.011(1)(a), a Class A felony. Prosecutors are also seeking a Deadly Weapon Special Verdict against each. Frank Ramos-Vasquez remains in custody at the Snohomish County Jail with bond set at $600,000; Fred is also in custody in the jail with bond set at $400,000.
A guilty verdict on the assault charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and up to a $50,000 fine, with a mandatory minimum of 60 months in prison. The special verdict, if proven, adds another mandatory 60 months to the sentence. Court documents note that with three additional pending cases against Frank Ramos-Vasquez for unlawful firearms possession in the second degree, he could face additional years in prison if convicted in those cases.
The shooting occurred shortly before 6 p.m. on June 12, 2026, in the Starbucks/AutoZone shopping center at the intersection of Highway 99 and 168th Street SW. Lynnwood Police arrived to find at least 37 shell casings at the scene. Video footage showed that an altercation began between two groups of four to six people, after which both Ramos-Vasquez brothers allegedly opened fire, striking the victim.
Multiple rounds struck several parked vehicles and the building; no bystanders were injured.
The 17-year-old victim was struck in the pelvis by a bullet that shattered the bone. He was taken to Providence Regional Center Everett for surgery and was listed in stable condition in the intensive care unit as of Friday evening and is expected to survive.
Frank and Fred Ramos-Vasquez were both arrested later that evening at the Acapella Apartment Homes located at 15001 35th Ave. W in Lynnwood.
The Edmonds School District has confirmed with the Lynnwood Times that the suspects and the victim have never been enrolled in the district.
Frank Ramos-Vasquez alleged gang member and criminal history
The arrests follow a troubling pattern in Frank Ramos-Vasquez’s prior court cases involving firearm possession and related eluding police charge. Court records reviewed by the Lynnwood Times show three pending cases in which he faces serious allegations, had bail reduced multiple times by judges despite prosecutorial requests for higher amounts, posted the reduced bonds, and saw the cases continued up to six times while still remaining open—Frank was on bond and was to appear in Court on June 5, just days prior to Friday’s shooting. Prosecutors in those matters described him as a risk to the community and cited violations of previous release conditions along with ties to the Wet Back Power gang.
Frank Ramos-Vasquez Case 24-8-01039-31 (incident Dec. 11, 2024)
This juvenile case stems from an incident in Lynnwood on December 11, 2024, Frank was 17 at the time.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose Perez responded to 3626 156th St. SW for multiple reports of gunshots. He observed a black sedan with a Washington license plate leaving the Sierra Vista apartments. According to his affidavit, Frank Ramos-Vasquez sat in the rear passenger seat with the window down. He pulled his jacket up to cover his face when he saw the deputy. A Hispanic male drove the sedan, and another sat in the front passenger seat. The vehicle was travelling at an abnormal speed when the driver and front passenger hunched down and looked away from the deputy and the front passenger also held a hand in front of his face. Deputy Perez then followed.
The sedan then ran a red light, failed to signal while changing lanes and sped away. Deputy Perez had to accelerate to 90 mph to catch up with the fleeing vehicle with his emergency lights and sirens—the failed to stop.
It entered a Taco Bell parking lot then pulled back onto the road without stopping, continuing at high speeds in a reckless manner, Deputy Perez wrote.
The vehicle reached the Acapella Apartments at 15013 35th Ave. W. where driver and front passenger exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Frank Ramos-Vasquez moved into the driver’s seat and drove away leading a pursuit with the Deputy following in speed that reach 70 miles per hour in a posted 35 mph zone. Frank allegedly ran multiple stop signs and drove in the oncoming lane, nearly colliding with another vehicle.
Deputy Perez performed a successful PIT maneuver leading to the arrest of Frank at which time he blurted, “they shot at me first” and “I didn’t do anything,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
Officers searched the vehicle and found a black Ruger handgun with an extended magazine in the rear passenger seat, where Frank Ramos-Vasquez had been sitting. The slide was locked to the rear.
Frank was charged with Firearm Possession Unlawful 2nd Degree Under 18 and Attempting to Elude a Police Vehicle, both Class C felonies. Bail was set at $5,000 bond, which was posted on Dec. 12, 2024, by Judge Jon T Scott. He pled not guilty. The case has seen six continuances and remains open with a last scheduled date of Aug. 5, 2026.
Frank Ramos-Vasquez Case 26-1-00298-31 (incident March 25, 2025)
This adult case arose from a traffic stop on March 25, 2025, in the 3400 block of 148th Street Southwest in unincorporated Lynnwood—Frank was 18 and this was four months after he posted bail in his December arrest.
Lynnwood police Officer Matthew Saul stopped a silver 2018 Jeep Compass with partially obscured plates after it left the Acapella Apartments. The driver was a 17-year-old male, who had no valid license or insurance. Fred Ramos-Vasquez, Frank’s brother and alleged accomplice in the June 16, 2026, shooting, was the front passenger. Frank Ramos-Vasquez sat in the rear passenger-side seat. A fourth occupant, an unidentified Hispanic male about 18 wearing a black-and-white flannel, sat in the rear driver’s side.
Officer Saul knew that the 17-year-old boy, Frank and Fred as members of the Wet Back Power gang, also called WBP Eastside Doble. He had personally contacted Frank and Fred in possession of a firearm and alcohol within the two months before the stop. He was aware Frank had been a suspect in a December 2024 police pursuit tied to a drive-by shooting. Saul noted in his affidavit of an ongoing violent conflict between WBP and a rival gang, 18th Street Wicked Ganster Surenos.
The driver of the vehicle told the Officer Saul that there were no firearms nor alcohol the jeep. The three passengers were told they could not drive the Jeep and left on foot. Frank left behind a sweatshirt stuffed under the front passenger seat and the unidentified passenger had black stretchy gloves half out of his pocket on a 65-degree day.
Officers found a full bottle of alcohol under the driver’s seat after the vehicle owner, the 17-year-old driver’s mother gave consent for the search. Under the front passenger seat, obscured by the sweatshirt, officers found three loaded pistols: two Polymer 80 “Glock”-style ghost guns with fully automatic switches and extended magazines, and one Glock 44 with serial number AFFX867 reported stolen from Kent Police Department.
During the search the 17-year-old boy rapidly texted on his phone. The messages appeared from a contact later identified as a known WBP member. The 17-year-old was then arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, possession of a stolen firearm and minor in possession of alcohol.
A Lynnwood police firearms instructor later test-fired one of the ghost guns and confirmed it fired three rounds in rapid succession with a single trigger pull, showing it had been modified to shoot fully automatically.
Frank Ramos-Vasquez was later charged with Unlawful Firearms, a Class C felony. Prosecutors requested a $50,000 bail, citing his known membership in the Wet Back Power gang, his presence with two other individuals believed to be in the same gang and his history of gun-related cases. Judge Edirin Okoloko reduced bail to $10,000, which was posted on April 6, 2026, just two months before the June 16 shootout in front of Starbucks. He pled not guilty on March 31, 2026. The case has seen two continuances and remains open with a latest scheduled date of August 14, 2026.
Frank Ramos-Vasquez Case 25-1-01160-31 (incident June 9, 2025)
This adult case against Frank Ramos-Vasquez is based on a June 9, 2025, incident in the unincorporated Everett area of South Snohomish County.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputy Zachary Byrd stopped an older purple Honda Accord with Oregon plates after observing it stopped at a red light on 128th Street Southwest. The driver wore a winter-style black coat with the hood up despite 78-degree weather. Byrd found the behavior suspicious in a high-crime area known for gang activity, shootings and assaults. He followed the vehicle after it made a quick right turn without signaling into a Safeway parking lot.
Byrd located the unoccupied Honda parked nearby with a young man nearby appearing to be acting as a lookout, he wrote in his affidavit. From outside the vehicle, Byrd saw a Glock pistol with an extended magazine and underbarrel laser in plain view on the passenger floorboard. The serial number PRN572 matched a gun stolen from Tacoma Police Department.
Deputies contacted the lookout, identified as the same 17-year-old boy associated with the previous March 2025 incident, and identified as a documented Wet Back Power gang member. Deputies then located three others near a McDonald’s drive-thru: twin brothers Frank and Fred Ramos-Vasquez and another male, all documented Wet Back Power gang members, accounting to court records. Fred Ramos-Vasquez was later identified as the person who drove the vehicle.
No weapons were found on the 17-year and 18-year-old boys during frisks and were released pending further investigation.
Safeway surveillance video later identified Fred Ramos-Vasquez as the driver of the vehicle and Frank Ramos-Vasquez as the front passenger. The stolen Glock was positioned directly between where Frank’s feet would have been, Bryd stated. All four occupants, Bryd added, were under 21 and prohibited from possessing pistols.
A search warrant executed on June 15, 2025, on the Honda Accord recovered the stolen Glock 23 .40-caliber pistol with a 17-round magazine, 15 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition, a non-serialized 9mm ghost gun with one live round in the chamber, a 30-round 9mm magazine and other items including a white envelope with “Frank” written on it.
Detectives test-fired the Glock on July 31 and confirmed it functioned properly.
Frank Ramos-Vasquez was charged with Unlawful Firearms, a Class C felony. Prosecutors requested $50,000 bail, citing his documented membership in the Wet Back Power gang, his possession of a firearm in this case and his violation of pretrial release conditions from the prior juvenile case 24-8-01039-31, in which he had been ordered not to commit any crimes and not to possess any firearms.
Judge Millie Judge reduced bail to $25,000, which was posted on October 2, 2025; Frank pled not guilty. The case has seen four continuances. Just days before the June 12, 2026, shooting, the case was continued from a June 5 hearing to August 14, 2026, and still remains open.
Wet Back Power Gang
Wet Back Power gang, also spelled Wetback Power or Wet Back Pride and sometimes referenced with “13” or “Doble,” is a Hispanic/Mexican-American street gang primarily originating in the Phoenix and Tucson areas of Arizona in the late 1990s to early 2000s.
It grew rapidly as a Mexican-American or “paisa” street gang and by the early 2000s had become one of Arizona’s largest by number of sets, with more than 900 members statewide according to 2002 reports.
Its name, “wet back” is derogatory, referencing illegal border crossers, and reflects associations with Mexican nationals or recent immigrants in some accounts. It uses Sureño symbology, including the number “13” representing the Mexican Mafia.
According to the DOJ, the gang operates as a Sureño-aligned Hispanic street gang subset under the broader Sureño umbrella, which is generally allied with or pays tribute to the Mexican Mafia prison gang in many regions.
Local rivalries exist with other Sureño sets, including documented turf battles with 18th Street Wicked Ganster Surenos in Washington state.
In Arizona, convicted members have routinely “patched over” to the Border Brothers prison gang, described in early 2000s reports as one of Arizona’s fastest-growing security threat groups with ties to the border, drug, weapon and human trafficking.
Wet Back Power members have engaged in violent crimes such as homicides, drive-by shootings, aggravated assaults, home invasions and armed robberies, as well as firearms offenses and narcotics trafficking, including retail-level marijuana distribution in Phoenix assessments.
In Washington State, particularly Snohomish County’s Everett and Lynnwood areas, it appears as a smaller, transplanted or local variant documented as “East Side Doble 13 Wet Back Power” or similar.
In 2021, Everett police documented a rise in gang activity and arrested a confirmed member of Wet Back Power in connection with firearms and violence-related incidents. The gang is tracked by the Lynnwood Police Department’s Special Operations and Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office as an active local set but is not among the largest or most dominant gangs in the state.
Author: Mario Lotmore
