Bail set at $1 million for 14-year-old Tri-Cities murder suspect
A Kennewick teen murder suspect is being held on $1 million bail after making his first appearance before a Tri-Cities juvenile court judge on Thursday.
Court Commissioner Darin Campbell rejected the initial proposed bail of $500,000 citing the nature of the crime and that the victim had been shot from behind.
The 14-year-old boy is accused of shooting and killing 19-year-old Julian Chavez of Kennewick on Saturday.
Chavez was discovered dead in his car after being shot and crashing into a parked vehicle.
The teen is expected back in court next week. Prosecutors have until 5 p.m. Monday to file charges.
If he’s charged, it is unclear if prosecutors will file to try the teen as an adult.
If so, the teen will have what is known as a decline hearing. Under Washington state law, juveniles can face adult criminal prosecution if they are 15 or older and have committed a serious crime or 14 or younger charged with first- or second-degree murder.
A judge would hold a discretionary decline hearing to determine whether to transfer the case to adult court.
Julian Chavez
“He was a good kid and always smiling,” according to a GoFundMe started to help his family pay for a funeral.
The online fundraising site described him as artistic, a talent he planned to use as a barber. He was saving money to attend barber school.
“Unfortunately for all of us, that is not going to happen as he was taken so suddenly and abruptly,” a family member posted. “He will never be able to accomplish his dreams.”
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the fundraiser had raised $4,570.
Oct. 29 shooting
About 9:15 p.m. on Saturday gunfire was reported in the 1100 block of West 5th Avenue in Kennewick.
When officers arrived they found a car that had crashed into a parked vehicle, with Chavez dead inside.
Officers could see the car had been hit by gunfire.
A motive for the shooting has not been released.
The death is being investigated as the 15th homicide this year in Benton County, Wash., with about half of them in Kennewick. It was also the third shooting of the weekend.
Annette Cary contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 7:06 PM.
