Teens appear in court for killing 17-year-old during Kennewick marijuana deal
A teen pleaded innocent Thursday to shooting and killing a 17-year-old during a robbery in April.
Jacob Young, 18, appeared in Benton County Superior Court for a third time this week after his Monday arrest on charges of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
His bail is set at $1 million.
His defense attorney Michael Vander Sys said he will wait until another hearing to request a lower bail.
For now, Young’s trial was set for Oct. 17.
Young and this half-brother, Jacquez C. Young, 15, and two other teens are accused of ambushing Ricardo Rivera on the 2100 block of Rhode Island Court in late April.
The neighborhood is just off Arrowhead Avenue north of the Gage Boulevard and Steptoe Street intersection,.
According to court documents filed by Benton County prosecutors, Rivera had gone to the neighborhood to drop off $25 worth of marijuana oil to a new customer. He was shot in his car.
Jacquez Young also was arrested Monday booked into the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center. Prosecutors are asking to a hearing to about moving his case to adult court. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 6.
Charges have not been filed against the 16- and 15-year-old who also are suspected of being involved with the shooting.
The Youngs have an association with a gang known as “Blitz Crew” which is made up of a combination of Crips and Gangster Disciples.
Shooting investigation
On April 28, Rivera had been on his way to the neighborhood after talking to a potential customer named “Dontae100” through the SnapChat messaging app.
Police tracked the internet connection used to access Dontae100’s account to the Arrowhead Avenue home where Jacob Young lived.
On the day of the shooting, he allegedly ordered a gram of oil to the Rhode Island Court.
Minutes after texting that he was approaching the area, a gunshot was heard about 5:15 p.m. People saw him step out of a Nissan Altima bleeding from a neck wound.
He told neighbors and police that he was shot “over a gram of weed.”
He later died at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.
Later, when police searched the Altima, they discovered that nearly $1,900 in cash was missing from Rivera’s black leather bank envelope.