A 16-year-old Vancouver boy wanted in a homicide investigation in Clackamas County will voluntarily return to Oregon for prosecution.
Court records indicate Cesar Soto Gama is suspected of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Juan Tomas Santos Bautista. He is also suspected of first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
On Wednesday, Soto Gama was back in Clark County Juvenile Court to waive his right to contest extradition to Oregon, which could be completed by the time of a follow-up hearing scheduled for Friday.
Soto Gama is believed to have fatally shot Santos Bautista, an apparent acquaintance. The teen’s body was found the evening of Jan. 26 in a car at the northbound French Prairie Rest Area along Interstate 5 near Wilsonville, Ore.
According to The Columbian’s news partner KATU-TV, Santos Bautista’s family said he was driving from his mother’s home in Salem to his father’s in Washington when he went missing. He was apparently traveling with Soto Gama.
The teen’s sister reportedly told KATU that Santos Bautista’s father had tracked messages to search for him and found his body at the rest area the next day.
“Upon further investigation, it seems like my brother’s laptop had been stolen, and he had kind of like a satchel that he would have on himself and he didn’t have that either. As far as I know, there was no gun,” the boy’s sister, Maria Dreams, told KATU.
A GoFundMe page for Santos Bautista’s funeral expenses states: “He was a very loving and bubbly person. He always loved to make everyone laugh and smile.”
Oregon authorities have yet to publicly identify Soto Gama as the suspect or say how the two teens knew each other. It’s unclear if his case will be handled in juvenile court, where public information is limited, or if he will be charged as an adult.
According to a spokeswoman with Vancouver Public Schools, both teens had at one time been enrolled in the school district. Santos Bautista withdrew from the district about two years ago; Soto Gama was enrolled at Hudson’s Bay High School.
Soto Gama was arrested Saturday by Oregon State Police and the Vancouver Police Department, according to Oregon authorities. He was lodged into the Clark County Juvenile Justice Center.
At his first appearance on Monday, Soto Gama’s mother, speaking through a Spanish interpreter and with assistance from her daughter, said detectives had seized her cellphone and vehicle as part of the investigation.
