Emotions run high during first court appearance for man accused of killing Hanford grad

The mother of a recent Hanford High School graduate was wearing a T-shirt with her daughter’s photo on it when she sat down in a courtroom just feet away from the young woman’s accused killer.

Isaiah Combs, 19, made his first appearance in a tense Benton County courtroom Friday as he pleaded innocent to aggravated first-degree murder.

If he’s convicted of the charge, it carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Family and friends of both Combs and the victim, Jatzivy Sarabia, filled the benches and about 70 people watched the hearing online.

The half-hour hearing was marked with crying, outbursts and a few people storming out of the courtroom.

Separate from the aggravated first-degree murder charge, Combs pleaded innocent to charges of first-degree robbery, seconddegree assault, third-degree assault and second-degree theft in another case.

In that case, Combs, along with several others other people, attacked and robbed two women in a room at the Riverfront Hotel in the middle of August, said police.

Deputy Prosecutor Annie Chau said the crimes resulted in significant injuries, and police had been looking for Combs for more than a month.

A $100,000 warrant had been issued for Combs, but he managed to avoid police for more than a month before the Oct. 15 shooting on Chemical Drive.

Chau asked for $2 million in bail as she pointed out that Combs knew all four women who were in the tan Jeep he allegedly shot at, and that the shooting was planned.

Defense attorney Eric Scott said he would wait to argue bail from Combs until a later hearing.

Court Commissioner Megan Whitmire set Combs bail at a total of $1.4 million for both cases.

He is currently being held in the Benton County jail.

Combs left the courtroom shouting to his supporters in the courtroom.

Ambush in Kennewick

The Kennewick shooting appears to have stemmed from an argument during a trip to Spokane on Oct. 14, according to court documents.

Five people were on the trip including Combs, Sarabia, Aubreyanna Asselin and two other young women.

Combs and Asselin have been friends for several years, but they argued during the trip and Combs ended up pulling out a gun and pointing it at Asselin’s head, according to court documents.

The four women left Combs behind in Spokane when they returned to the Tri-Cities on Saturday, Oct. 15.

They met up with Combs again at a Columbia Drive business, when he promised to lead them to a party on the 5800 block of South Yew Street.

Video surveillance from the area shows Combs get into a Honda with four other people at 10:53 p.m. The four women leave about six minutes later in the tan Jeep with Asselin behind the wheel.

The women stopped at a home on Benton Street before heading to the party. They were on their way to the party when they saw a dark Honda and a light-colored vehicle in front.

Investigators said the shooting started near the intersection of Yew Street and Chemical Drive, and continued down Chemical Drive to the intersection of Third Avenue.

Combs allegedly leaned out of the rear driver’s side window and opened fire, according to witnesses.

Witnesses did not say how many rounds were fired, but investigators found shell casings from four different guns. It’s unclear whether any of the other people in the car were involved in the shooting.

Benton County sheriff’s deputies have confirmed that there were no guns in the Jeep that Sarabia was in.

One of the shots pierced the windshield and hit Sarabia in the neck. The jeep fled, steaming and leaking fluid, back to the Benton Street home where they called 911.

When Kennewick police arrived, they found Sarabia unresponsive. Officers and medical personnel tried to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Great Future

Jatzivy Sarabia left an outsized mark on the Tri-Cities for her 18 years. Dozens of people remembered her as a source of positivity, who had the power to make anyone laugh.

“She was very supportive and caring,” her mother, Kimberly Sarabia, told the Herald. “She loved the people in her life. She took care of her little brother and sisters.”

Her cousin, Jamie Harbert, said in a GoFundMe campaign that she was a beautiful person inside and out, and was the big sister of the house.

More than a hundred people showed up at Howard Amon Park in Richland to memorialize her. Two of them were Patricia McFadden and her daughter.

McFadden said Jatzivy was her daughter’s first friend when they moved to the Tri-Cities. They had been inseparable.

“She was a good girl,” McFadden told the Herald. “She always lit up the room wherever she went.”

Even if someone was mad, Jatzivy had a knack for diffusing the situation.

“I hope they find justice,” she said.

Kimberly Sarabia said her daughter was on on the verge of becoming her own woman, and was excited for the future. She loved her job and was saving for a car.

“She was an amazing young woman that was just on the verge of great things,” she said. “She was so excited to start school (at Columbia Basin College) in January.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 6:46 PM.