Brothers accused of Pasco teen’s murder appear in court

Two brothers who were the focus of a police manhunt in connection with the murder of a Pasco teen appeared in court Monday for the first time since their capture in Walla Walla.

A Franklin County judge set hearings next week for Jaden and Nathan Quintero when they will enter a plea to the charge of first-degree murder in the Oct. 7 death of George Garcia Thacker, 18.

Both appeared briefly with their court-appointed attorneys, Scott Johnson and Ryan Swinburnson. Bail is set at $1 million each.

Murder warrants were issued for Jaden, 17, and Nathan, 23, two days after Thacker was found shot several times at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and River Street near the cable bridge.

The brothers managed to elude capture for two weeks, but police tracked down leads and found the pair at a Walla Walla home where they were arrested on Oct. 23.

Few details about the shooting have been released. Police say it appears the brothers knew Thacker prior to the shooting.

However, police and prosecutors have not discussed a possible motive and have not publicly released why the Quinteros are suspected of murder. Court documents detailing information in the case are sealed.

Prosecutor Shawn Sant told the Herald the documents may remain sealed even after the brothers are arraigned next week because of an “ongoing investigation.”

And although there are no other suspects in the murder, police are looking into whether the brothers had help while they were on the run from authorities, Sant said.

Thacker was a former New Horizons High School student who friends say was trying to turn his life around before he was killed.

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Brothers accused of Pasco teen’s murder appear in court."