A fight between romantic rivals in Washington state results in ICE arrests

It started with a fight over a girl.

“A love triangle,” said Kayla Somarriba. Her husband’s older brother was having an affair with a distant cousin’s girlfriend.

The affair started last year, Somarriba said, and lasted several months.

That tryst would set off big emotions — and a series of events that would end with Somarriba’s husband and his older brother in immigration jail — and possibly headed to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center.

The affair could have ended with the girl returning to the cousin — but the cousin didn’t let it go. He started sending angry text messages to his romantic rival.

Somarriba's brother-in-law "was just ignoring" those texts, she said, and would tell the cousin, "Hey, look, let’s talk like men."

Somarriba's husband — Jeison Ruiz Rodriguez, 26, a protective brother — wanted to confront the cousin head-on. So they, plus a third, younger Ruiz brother, piled into a truck with other relatives and drove to the cousin’s house.

RELATED: His day started with selling a chicken coop. It ended in immigration detention

In statements to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, people living with the cousin said men arrived at their home, and yelled out for the cousin — including threats to kill, the statements allege.

They said someone fired a gun pointed in the air, and they all left in the truck. No gunman was identified in the police report.

“Later on that night, cops showed up at our house wanting to arrest them,” Somarriba said.

Police didn’t find a gun — but still arrested the Ruiz brothers. They were charged with harassment, threats to kill, and drive-by shooting. As officers booked them, they noticed their tattoos.

“Based on my training, experience, and a few internet searches the tattoos for the two brothers provided a presumptive match to Tren De Aragua iconography,” wrote a Spokane County sheriff deputy in a report.

Under the Trump administration, people linked to the gang — and who don’t have legal status — have been sent to prison in El Salvador. The Ruiz brothers could be sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center – but only if Nicaragua first refuses to take them back, according to an ICE spokesperson.

RELATED: Spokane man arrested by ICE spent more than a decade trying to obtain legal status

“There are certain things you see when dealing with a gang member, a lot of drugs, a lot of past criminal history, a lot of cash laying around,” said Kyle Madsen, a senior attorney at the Spokane county public defender's office. He’s represented over a dozen gang members in his five-year career.

Madsen is also the public defender for Jeison Ruiz Rodriguez. He said a search was done of his client’s vehicle and home.

“No gun was found, there were no drugs found, nothing but your average American home,” he said. His client has no criminal priors and works overtime as a contractor, he added.

Somarriba insists they are not connected to Tren de Aragua. She said her husband’s tattoos include his grandma’s birthday, and a rose with a sibling's name — nothing gang related.

“I don’t know, it just doesn’t make sense to me,” she said.

The three brothers were released from Spokane County jail on bond — but Jeison Ruiz Rodriguez and his younger brother were arrested again on their way to court, this time by federal immigration officers.

RELATED: Washington 'sanctuary law' allows ICE agents to pick up people leaving prison. They often don't

Somarriba recorded the arrests with her phone. Footage shows ICE agents smashing the windows. One of the brothers shouts, “Pregnant! She’s pregnant!”

The brothers were then pulled out of the car and onto the gravel, kicking up dust into their mouths and taking on injuries they would carry into the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma in the subsequent months.

Madsen accused the sheriff’s office of violating two state laws: the Keep Washington Working Act passed in 2019, and the Washington Open Courts Open to All Act passed in 2020. He says the county sheriff worked with ICE beyond the scope of what state law allows, tipping off federal law enforcement. The county sheriff’s office denies breaking any laws. Washington courts have since dropped the charges against Ruiz Rodriguez and his brother because they were arrested by ICE.

RELATED: Washington family torn apart after father arrested outside of church and deported

Meanwhile, ICE has reiterated the county sheriff's allegations of the brothers being connected to the gang.

Somarriba worries about what will happen to her husband and his brother. News of these allegations reached Nicaragua, their home country. They fear if the brothers are deported there, the alleged gang ties could paint a target on their backs.

The brothers are now being represented by a pro bono immigration attorney.

Ruiz Rodriguez's future is up in the air, as immigration officials review the attorney’s request to stop his deportation. His brother’s case is even more complicated, their attorney said.

If Ruiz Rodriguez gets out, he has something to look forward to – that’s because in the past few days, Somarriba has started to go into labor.

Correction, Monday, 5/19/2025: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated which of Jeison Ruiz Rodriguez's brothers had been involved in the love triangle. This story has also been updated to include that a third brother was arrested in connection with alleged threats made against Ruiz Rodriguez's cousin.