Prosecutors charge three Auburn suspects for 2022 parking garage murder

“Wherever these defendants go, there are shots fired.”

King County prosecutors have charged three Auburn residents in a 2022 homicide at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila.

Cristopher Ruvalcaba, 20, Joe Aguilera, 18, and Kevin Diaz-Bautista, 16, all face a felony charge of murder in the second degree for the death of 30-year-old Chris Wesolowicz on Nov. 18, 2022.

The King County Superior Court will try 16-year-old Diaz-Bautista as an adult as a result of the severity of the charge.

Ruvalcaba and Aguilera both face an additional felony charge of theft of a motor vehicle.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against the three subjects on May 19.

Tukwila officers responded on Nov. 18, 2022, at approximately 6:39 p.m. to reports of a shooting in a parking garage.

According to court documents, surveillance video shows the three subjects parking a previously reported stolen vehicle in a parking garage at the Southcenter Mall next to the vehicle of Chris and Mary Wesolowicz.

Two subjects exited the stolen vehicle and one smashed the rear driver’s side window of the Wesolowicz’s vehicle as the second stood as a lookout, according to court documents. The third subject sat in the driver’s seat of the stolen vehicle, appearing to hold a firearm.

Video showed Chris and Mary Wesolowicz walking back to the vehicle after having dinner and unlocking the vehicle with a key fob, resulting in the flashing of the lights on the vehicle. The two subjects outside jumped back into the stolen vehicle, and Chris jumped and slammed himself on the stationary suspect vehicle’s windshield, hitting his back on the glass.

Chris landed back on the ground, and video showed a subject in the front passenger seat raising his right hand prior to four gunshots firing through the front windshield, according to court documents. Additional gunshots fired through and shattered the front driver’s window, and the stolen vehicle fled the scene. Chris and Mary ran and both fell to the ground.

According to charging documents, Ruvalcaba and Aguilera fired at least eight rounds, with four striking Chris Wesolowicz and one striking Mary Wesolowicz in the hand.

According to a news release from the Tukwila Police Department, Wesolowicz died as a result of his wounds at the scene despite efforts from first responders to save his life.

The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle immediately following the shooting, according to the Tukwila Police Department.

In the months following the incident, the investigation of Tukwila detectives established probable cause for the arrest of Ruvalcaba, Aguilera and Diaz-Bautista for murder in the second degree.

Investigation identified the three suspects as members of the Pacific North Line Mob, a gang.

On May 17, 2023, multiple South King County and Pierce County agencies coordinated to serve arrest warrants at three locations in Auburn.

Law enforcement arrested Diaz-Bautista in the 2300 block of O Street Northeast, and Ruvalcaba in the 31200 block of Lea Hill Road and Aguilera in a traffic stop — all without incident.

Police booked Ruvalcaba and Aguilera into the King County Jail and Diaz-Bautista into the King County Clark Children and Family Justice, according to the news release.

Ruvalcaba provided a statement to Tukwila police admitting he and Aguilera and Diaz-Bautista attempted to steal another vehicle in the parking garage at Southcenter Mall, according to an affidavit of probable cause. He said to police he remembered Chris Wesolowicz slamming on the windshield prior to both him and Aguilera firing shots.

According to charging documents, ballistics testing identified the two firearms Aguilera and Ruvalcaba used in Wesolowicz’s shooting as having been used in an additional five separate shootings.

“The arrest of Kevin Diaz-Bautista, Cristopher Ruvalcaba and Joe Aguilera has put a stop to a shooting spree throughout South King County,” stated Christopher Anderson, senior deputy prosecuting attorney, in charging documents. “Wherever these defendants go, there are shots fired.”

Law enforcement recovered four more firearms from Ruvalcaba’s address and Diaz-Bautista.

The King County Superior Court scheduled the arraignments for the three subjects for the morning of June 1. The subjects remain in custody.