Pasco teen set out to harass ‘tweakers’ with a BB gun, police say. He’s now charged with murder

A 17-year-old Pasco teen and his friends were on a mission Saturday evening to “go shoot some tweakers,” according to newly filed court documents.

Instead of finding some drug users to harass with a BB gun, a 21-year-old Kennewick man who chased their car ended up dead, said Kennewick police.

Stuart B. Walker, 17, is being held on $1 million bail at the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center on charges of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. He was charged as an adult because of the seriousness of the charge.

He’s charged with killing Patrick S. Romero, 21, about 6 p.m. Saturday in a West Bruneau Place parking lot, near Highway 395.

Two other teens are also under arrest in connection with the shooting — Raheem Mayberry, 19, and a 14-year-old boy.

Mayberry is charged with rendering criminal assistance for allegedly driving Walker and the other teens. He’s being held in the Benton County jail on $100,000 bail. The younger teen is facing similar charges.

Walker made his first appearance in court Friday.

Here’s what investigators believe happened, according to court records file in the criminal cases:

Saturday evening, five teens got into Mayberry’s silver car after the 14-year-old suggested they “go shoot some tweakers,” according to court records.

Tweakers is slang for methamphetamine addicts, but it’s not clear why they ended up in the West Bruneau neighborhood.

As they drove through the area, the 14-year-old handed a BB gun to Walker who started firing at Romero’s grandmother’s apartment, according to court documents.

Romero, who stayed there occasionally, was there with his 16-year-old sister and two 14-year-old friends.

His family told the Herald that the car had driven through the neighborhood earlier and had damaged the window of a parked car with the BB gun. The teens and Romero were outside trying to cover the broken window with a floorboard when the car drove by again.

This time, Walker allegedly fired the BB gun at the window of their grandmother’s apartment, so they chased after it.

Romero threw rocks at the car, and Walker fired the BB gun back at him as the car pulled away, said court documents.

Romero and the teens thought that was the end of it and started back toward the apartment.

Suspects returned with gun

Police say the car stopped in an alley between the Econo Lodge and an empty car dealership and the five people inside chased Romero and the others.

Romero’s 16-year-old sister and one of her friends made it back into the apartment, but four people from the car caught up with Romero and the other 14-year-old.

Walker then fired a .40-caliber handgun twice, hitting Romero once in the upper chest but missing the younger teen, said court documents.

The suspects fled in the car with Mayberry driving, leaving Romero to die, said investigators.

The 14-year-old and Walker went to Clover Island later Saturday night and threw the BB gun into the Columbia River, according to police. And it’s unclear if the .40-caliber gun has been recovered by police.

Detectives used surveillance video from the neighborhood to find the silver car and identify the five suspects.

Kennewick and Pasco police caught up with Mayberry hours after the shooting as he was leaving his Pasco home in a friend’s car.

When police interviewed him, he allegedly said he drove the car to and from the scene.

Detectives say the car used during the shooting was at Mayberry’s house. They found BB gun pellets and a .40-caliber round inside and two empty .40-caliber magazines in a dresser in his room.

Walker’s family took him to the police station Monday night where he was interviewed and arrested.

The third teen was brought to police station on Thursday by his mother.

Online records show no prior felony cases involving Walker.

Mayberry is awaiting trail in Benton County on theft charges that involve faking a robbery at Columbia Center mall, reportedly staged by his manager at the Dairy Queen/Orange Julius.

This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Pasco teen set out to harass ‘tweakers’ with a BB gun, police say. He’s now charged with murder."