Teen charged as an adult for July 4 shooting in Pasco

A 17-year-old boy has been charged as an adult for a July 4 shooting in Pasco that left the victim in a vegetative state.

Pedro Cadenas will appear July 18 in Franklin County Superior Court for first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement, drive-by shooting, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and attempted theft of a vehicle.

The case automatically was bumped up to adult court because of the first-degree assault charge and the fact that Cadenas is just five months from his 18th birthday.

He remains locked up in the Juvenile Detention Center on $750,000 bail.

Cadenas left a barbecue in Pasco and some time later was a passenger in a Cadillac Escalade when he shot the driver, Jorge Rodriguez, as they were heading west on Lewis Street, court documents said. The Cadillac then crashed into a fence and a parked Ford Mustang.

Surveillance video shows Cadenas and Rodriguez get out of the SUV. The 51-year-old driver walked away, then gave his cellphone to a bystander and had them talk to his daughter.

His family said the bullet damaged Rodriguez’s brain and that doctors have told them he is dying.

This story was originally published July 12, 2017 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Teen charged as an adult for July 4 shooting in Pasco."