Judge: Family's Lakewood assault sends message 'You aren't safe anywhere'

A Man Sentenced to 55 Years for Shooting at a Family in Lakewood

On Friday, a man was sentenced to approximately 55 years in prison after being convicted of four counts of first-degree assault for shooting at a vehicle occupied by a family returning home from a coastal vacation. The incident took place in Lakewood and left the victims deeply affected.

Judge Jennifer Andrews of Pierce County Superior Court emphasized the severity of the crime during the sentencing. She described the act of indiscriminately firing a gun into a car full of people as "horrifying," stating that it sends a message to society that no place is safe.

The defendant, 34-year-old Francisco Z. Cepeda Baldiva, had no prior connection to the four individuals he shot at on July 7, 2024. According to Adam Faber, a spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, the shooting appears to have been a case of mistaken identity. It is believed that Cepeda Baldiva had a dispute with a couple over a parking space in an apartment complex, and when a similar black SUV arrived, he opened fire.

Ashley Weiland, who was in the passenger seat, described the incident as turning a quiet afternoon into a war zone. She expressed that she now feels unsafe anywhere, avoiding crowds and loud sounds, and constantly looking over her shoulder.

The shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at an apartment complex southeast of Interstate 5. Weiland, her fiancé, her brother, and her grandmother were returning from Westport, where they had gone deep-sea fishing. They noticed a masked gunman running toward them and firing a handgun. Numerous bullets hit their Jeep Compass, with one piercing the windshield and striking the driver, Rashard Cannon, in the shoulder. The rear window shattered, and glass debris sliced Weiland’s 72-year-old grandmother in the face. In court, Weiland said her grandmother was covered in blood and thought she had been shot.

Cannon accelerated in reverse, and Weiland’s brother returned fire from the rear passenger window in self-defense. By the time police arrived, Cepeda Baldiva had fled with three accomplices, and the victims transported themselves to St. Joseph Medical Center.

The other individuals involved with Cepeda Baldiva do not appear to have been charged in this case. According to court records, Cepeda Baldiva met up with them in an apartment alcove while gunfire was still ongoing. Surveillance video showed a different man in a mask pulling a high-capacity rifle out of a guitar case. Fortunately, prosecutors noted that the gun appeared to malfunction.

Cepeda Baldiva was arrested in September 2024, and his trial began in June. After four days of testimony and about 10 hours of deliberations, jurors found him guilty on all counts, including first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Deputy prosecuting attorney Sunni Ko highlighted that this isn't the first time the defendant has chased a victim through an apartment complex while firing a gun. She mentioned that in 2017, Cepeda Baldiva was convicted of two counts of second-degree assault after running after a man who had supposedly tried to rob him in an apartment parking lot. He shot at the man, but the bullet struck and injured a woman with her toddler. Cepeda Baldiva spent over four years in prison for the crime.

In court, Ko asked Judge Andrews to order that Cepeda Baldiva serve his new assault convictions one after the other, which would have amounted to 77 years, six months. She argued that the defendant is a danger to the community and should not be released before the law allows.

Cepeda Baldiva’s defense attorney, Eric Trujillo, argued that Ko’s recommendation would result in an excessive sentence. He requested a punishment of 51 years, six months. Judge Andrews ultimately agreed with Trujillo, stating that a sentence of nearly 80 years for a 34-year-old man was beyond the natural lifespan of any human.

When it was Cepeda Baldiva’s turn to speak, he called the case a "tragedy" and claimed innocence, suggesting that the prosecution and jury were biased against him due to his tattoos and skin color. He stated, "The government can lie, the government can kill, the government can do a lot of things. But me, I'm just a lost soul in the government's hand."

After the court adjourned, Weiland expressed frustration over the judge not giving Cepeda Baldiva prison time for each of his assault convictions. Her brother, Sergio Esquivel, told The News Tribune that he didn’t want the defendant to get out until he was old and infirm so he couldn’t do more harm. Weiland also expressed surprise at Cepeda Baldiva’s claim of innocence, saying he should have acknowledged what he did and apologized for it.

"Be man enough to acknowledge it," Weiland said. "Nobody died, thankfully, but they could have."