Late last week, a man who was already in jail facing other charges was arrested in connection with the February homicide of 71-year-old Gerald Moore outside his house on South 8th Street.
Detectives from the Yakima Police Department’s (YPD) Criminal Investigations Division arrested 25-year-old Vincent Mora-Worthington, who was already being held at the Yakima County Jail on charges of eluding and hit-and-run. At a probable cause hearing on Friday, April 1st, Yakima County Superior Court Judge Richard Bartheld ordered Mora-Worthington held in lieu of
$1 million bail on suspicion of second-degree murder and drive-by shooting.
Moore was shot and killed outside his house on February 16th. During the initial investigation of the homicide, YPD detectives identified a vehicle they believed was driven by Moore’s shooter.
At about 1:25 pm on February 22nd, YPD patrol officer located the suspect vehicle. The vehicle, which was being driven by Mora-Worthington, fled from officers. Police tracked the vehicle to an apartment near Lake Aspen where Mora-Worthington was arrested. He was eventually charged with eluding and hit-and-run. Mora-Worthington has been held at Yakima County Jail on those charges since his initial arrest.
YPD officers and detectives were able to match shell casings found inside Mora-Worthington’s vehicle and its windshield wiper to casings found outside Moore’s house. A .38 caliber pistol and pills suspected to be fentanyl were also found in Mora-Worthington’s car. That and other evidence led to him being arrested in the Moore homicide case.
“The arrest of Mora-Worthington is an excellent example of collaboration between YPD officers and detectives,” say YPD Captain Jay Seely. “Hopefully this will provide some closure to Mr. Moore’s family and friends,” said Seely.
Pictures of Moore and Mora-Worthington can be seen by clicking on the links below.
