Wenatchee Man To Serve 23 Years In Gang Related Shooting Death

The man accused of pulling the trigger in the murder of an 18-year-old Wenatchee man two years ago will serve more than 23 years in prison. 

Yair Flores Cavero was shot to death in August 2022 while sleeping in his home in the 1600 block of Methow Street.   

Twenty-year-old Markheil Leon Ford was sentenced Wednesday in Chelan County Superior Court after reaching a plea deal in March. 

In the deal, Ford pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for firing the two gunshots that killed Flores through his bedroom window.   

Detectives believe Ford shot Flores in retaliation for shots Flores fired in a "gang-related fight" earlier in 2022 in the Big Lots parking lot in Olds Station. No one was reported injured in that incident. 

Ford's plea agreement did not require him to make a statement of guilt but said the court could use evidence to establish the fact that he was guilty.  

He was originally charged with Aggravated First-Degree Murder, which could have carried mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and a fine.  

Under his plea deal, prosecuting and defense attorneys recommended 280 months (23 years, 3 months) and 36 months of community custody upon release.  Chelan County Superior Court Judge Travis Brandt accepted their recommendation.

A charge of 1st Degree Murder Burglary was also dropped in his plea deal.  

An accomplice to Ford in the murder of Cavero, 29-year-old Javier Valdez, pleaded guilty in November to first-degree murder. Valdez also pleaded guilty to 2nd Degree Assault in the attack of a guard in the Chelan County jail while he was waiting to go on trial.   

Valdez is now serving a nearly 35-year prison term.