New details on fatal ambush shooting of Hanford grad. 2nd teen arrested
A second person is in jail in connection to the ambush killing of a recent Hanford High School graduate.
Carnell Green, 18, of Kennewick, was arrested last week on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance. He is accused of aiding Isaiah Combs in the ambush killing of Jatzivy Sarabia on Oct. 15 in Kennewick.
On Friday, Combs pleaded innocent to aggravated first-degree murder. If convicted of the charge, he would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ambush killing
Investigators say that Sarabia was in the backseat of a Jeep following Combs in another vehicle to a party, when he allegedly began firing at the Jeep.
Sarabia was hit in the neck and was unresponsive by the time paramedics were able to get to her.
The attack is said to have followed an altercation between Combs and the driver of the Jeep, Aubreyanna Asselin, during a trip to Spokane.
Five people were on the trip including Combs, Sarabia, 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 and returned to the Tri-Cities on Saturday, Oct. 15. But they met up with Combs again at a Columbia Drive business the same day, when he promised to lead them to a party on the 5800 block of South Yew Street.
New court documents reveal that Maya Williams, Layshawne Bethea and Green were with Combs and the women in Spokane when he pulled the gun on Asselin. Investigators say Williams later drove back to Spokane with Green to pick Combs up.
Combs had promised the women in the Jeep he would lead them to a party. As they were driving there, Williams’ vehicle and another car were seen ahead of the Jeep. Investigators now say the other vehicle was related to the shooting, and were associates of Combs including Bethea.
Investigators say eyewitnesses reported shots being fired out of both vehicles, but have not named anyone from the other vehicle as a suspected second shooter. Two of the women in the Jeep and an uninvolved witness reported seeing a man firing from the backseat on the driver’s side of Williams’ vehicle.
Investigators say Green was in the front passenger seat of her car and Combs was sitting behind Williams when Combs fired the shots. Another man and woman, who have not yet been accused of a crime, were also in the back seat with Combs.
Assalin fled back to her father’s house where they were met by police and paramedics, who attempted life saving measures. But Sarabia was pronounced dead at the scene.
After the shooting, it appears Combs fled to Spokane. Green reportedly told investigators he also went to Spokane to say his goodbyes to Combs and Bethea, who intended to stay behind.
Investigators say Green then returned to his home on the 3800 block of 19th Court, and placed a dark colored handgun into a storage container in his bedroom. The gun and ammunition matched the description of the weapon Combs used, along with shell casings found at the shooting scene.
Combs was arrested on Oct. 20 after returning to Richland. Green was arrested a few days later.
After Green was arrested and his home searched, he told investigators he did not see Combs shoot, but said he heard gunshots and felt the wind on his arm as if a window had been rolled down in the backseat.
Reporter Cameron Probert contributed to this report.
