He deliberately ran over a friend in Parkland and killed him over $20, records say
A man deliberately ran over an acquaintance, killing him, on the side of a Parkland street over $20, court documents say.
Jose Manuel Colon Ortega, 48, is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree murder in the July 24 death of Tanielu Utu, 41. Ortega is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon after being extradited from Cowlitz County, where he was being held in connection with a residential burglary.
Utu was found dead near the 10400 block of Ainsworth Avenue South after several people called 911 to report that a driver appeared to have deliberately struck a pedestrian before speeding away.
Charging papers give this account of the homicide:
Paramedics pronounced Utu dead at the scene. A replica handgun was allegedly tucked into his waistband.
Deputies discovered a set of tire marks that went from the northbound lanes of Ainsworth Avenue onto the west shoulder near Utu’s body. A hat, sunglasses and bag of suspected methamphetamine were found along the tire tracks.
Utu’s girlfriend told investigators that she had been waiting nearby while Utu went to meet Ortega, who arrived in a Honda Accord. The men were allegedly meeting because one of them owed the other $20.
The woman said “she could hear their conversation become hostile, and said that ‘things started to escalate’ between the two,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers. “She then saw the defendant hit the victim with his vehicle, causing the victim to fly into the air.”
Oretga struck a dumpster as he fled, witnesses said.
Multiple people who saw the incident said Ortega drove away from Utu, did a U-turn then drove directly at him, striking him with the front of the sedan and sending Utu flying 10 to 15 feet into the air.
One man on scene was able to identify Ortega as the driver. He told investigators Utu had threatened the day before to burn Ortega’s vehicle.
Two days after the fatal hit-and-run, Ortega’s mother reported the Honda stolen and said her son’s girlfriend had it when it was taken from a park-n-ride. Lakewood police recovered the sedan that day in a marshy area of the city. It had extensive damage to the hood, was missing a front bumper cover and had blood on it, records say.
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 12:03 PM.
