Clallam Bay man pleads guilty to first-degree murder

Sentencing next month to be between 35 and 43 years

PORT ANGELES — A Clallam Bay man arrested in June after a woman was found dead in a travel trailer has pleaded guilty in Clallam County Superior Court to first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree assault and possession of a stolen firearm.

Cipriano Ojeda-Ibarra, 56, of Clallam Bay is set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on April 30. Including three sentence enhancements for using a firearm and one for domestic violence, he faces a sentencing range of 35 years and three months to 43 years and four months. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday.

Ojeda-Ibarra was set to go to trial on May 6. He is being held without bail in the Clallam County jail based upon RCW 10.64.025, which allows detaining a defendant found guilty of a felony and awaiting sentencing “unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is not likely to flee or to pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released.”

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On June 28, Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a travel trailer in Clallam Bay, where they located a deceased 39-year-old woman, later identified as Charlotte Louesa Lopez. Indications were that she had died of a gunshot wound, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Ojeda-Ibarra later was identified on the property, then arrested and booked into Clallam County jail for investigation of second-degree murder-domestic violence, according to an update from the sheriff’s office.

“The victim and suspect are related, which is why it reads domestic violence,” then-Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Cameron said last June.

According to court records, Ojeda-Ibarra also assaulted a man and a woman with a firearm.

Under state law, if a defendant is found to have been armed with a firearm during the crime, an additional 60 months is added for the first offense and 120 months for a second offense.

Ojeda-Ibarra also possessed a .357 revolver he knew had been stolen.

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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.

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