The trial for the man who allegedly shot and killed a 20-year-old stranger before stealing his vehicle at the Federal Way Crossings shopping plaza has begun.

Leonel Gonzalez, who resided in Tacoma, is accused of shooting and killing Ruvim Stukov, whom court documents say was a stranger to him, on Dec. 8, 2021.

Gonzalez is charged with murder in the first degree while committing and attempting to commit the crime of robbery in the first degree. He is also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. The charging documents allege that Gonzalez was armed with a .40 caliber handgun while committing the crime.

Prosecution’s opening statements

At the trial’s opening statements Oct. 24, King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brent Kling said Stukov played volleyball, was a musician, and a committed member of his church. Kling said Stukov lived in Mountlake Terrace, but attended church in Edgewood and, on his way home from church, would often stop to pick up food at the Panda Express in the Federal Way Crossings shopping plaza.

Kling said the day Stukov died, he made that usual trip to church, then stopped for food in Federal Way before heading home. That night, while sitting in his car at the Crossings, somebody would approach Stukov, yell at him, and then pull a gun out.

“That person would shoot Ruvim in the shoulder, in the chest, and through the top of his head. That person would pull Ruvim’s body from the driver’s seat of that car, steal the very car that he was sitting in, driving away, leaving Ruvim dead on the pavement in that parking lot,” Kling said. “On the night of Dec. 8, 2021, Ruvim Stukov was murdered during a robbery, and by the end of this trial, you will know that it was the defendant, Leonel Gonzalez, who was that person who murdered him.”

Kling said evidence would also include surveillance videos, city camera videos, cell phone location data, fingerprint and the DNA evidence linking Gonzalez to the crime, and hearing Gonzalez speak with police, claiming that despite evidence to the contrary, he was never in Federal Way the night of the murder.

Kling said although the video of the alleged shooting was grainy and the physical features of the shooter are not observable, a license plate in Stukov’s vehicle and a latex glove had Gonzalez’s fingerprints on them, and he would also later be found with multiple pieces of Stukov’s property on his person. Kling added that less than 12 hours later, Stukov’s vehicle was found in Tacoma.

Kling said the next day, Gonzalez was found on a bus in Spanaway and was wearing clothing consistent with what the suspected shooter was wearing the night of Stukov’s death: dark pants and a dark-colored beanie. He added that alongside the clothes placing Gonzalez at the scene, GPS cellphone data would show he was he was at the car when Stukov died and with the vehicle thereafter.

Defense’s opening statement

Gonzalez’s defense attorney, Tamara Gaffney, said that what’s happening is that the state, just like law enforcement, is jumping to conclusions about what happened before the shooting. Gaffney said Gonzalez is charged with causing the death of another during the course of a robbery, but the evidence presented will show there’s nothing to prove that.

Gaffney said the evidence shows that Gonzalez approached the vehicle, there was a conversation, it escalated, Stukov was shot, and in the aftermath, the vehicle was taken to leave the scene. Gaffney asked the jurors to think about what the evidence showed them.

“I want you to think through this trial, what is it that shows why. What here is showing a robbery,” Gaffney said.

Gaffney said jurors will have an overview of the area of Federal Way where Stukov died and the context leading up to it. Gaffney said jurors will see that even though this occurred at around 9 p.m., cars were in the parking lot, and it was a busy area. She said it’s not the best environment for a robbery.

Gaffney said two of the witnesses who were in the parking lot during the death of Stukov said they saw someone approach the vehicle where Stukov was. Gaffney said the witnesses thought the pair might have known each other and were having a normal conversation.

Gaffney said the witnesses said after the initial conversation, the voices of the pair began to get louder until there was a gunshot, but before that moment, neither of the witnesses had seen a firearm or a car door open. She added that the witnesses said they never saw gunshots but heard them and thought both of the people in the altercation might have had firearms.

“The state is jumping to conclusions in this. Not just that there was a shooting, there obviously was, but trying to say that there was a robbery and that this occurred in the course of a robbery,” Gaffney said. “Something tragic happened, but that does not mean that jumping to conclusions about the entire context is helpful.”