13-year-old charged with murder. He’s the 3rd teen accused in death of Hanford High grad
A 13 year old was arrested Thursday as one of the suspects in the murder of a recent Hanford High graduate who was shot in Kennewick as she rode in the backseat of a Jeep on her way to a party.
Jatzivy Sarabia, 18, was shot and killed on Oct. 15.
Although the Benton County Sheriff’s Office did not name the teen arrested, court documents show that a warrant was issued Wednesday for Layshawne Bethea, 13, who was charged with aggravated first-degree murder.
Benton County Sheriff’s Office detectives located Bethea at 2 p.m. Thursday with the help of U.S. Marshals.
They stopped a car he was riding in near 10th Avenue and Ely Street in Kennewick, according to the sheriff’s office.
The teen was booked into the Benton Franklin Juvenile Justice Center in Kennewick on the charge of premeditated murder with a firearm enhancement. He made his first court appearance on Friday afternoon.
He is the third teen arrested in connection with Sarabia’s death.
On Friday, Isaiah Combs, 19, pleaded innocent to aggravated first-degree murder in the ambush shooting of Sarabia.
If convicted as charged, he would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Carnell Green, 18, of Kennewick, also was arrested last week on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance in Sarabia’s death.
Bethea was the second young teen taken to the juvenile justice center this week on suspicion of murder.
A 14-year-old boy is accused of shooting and killing 19-year-old Julian Chavez of Kennewick on Saturday. Chavez was found dead in his crashed car in the 1100 block of West 5th Avenue in Kennewick.
The 14-year-old is being held on $1 million bail but has yet to be charged.
Disagreement in Spokane
Investigators say that Sarabia was in the middle of a 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 reached 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 on Oct. 14.
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 the next morning, returning 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.
Court documents reveal that Maya Williams, 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.
Shots fired over 1 mile
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. The shooting continued over about a mile of Chemical Drive in east Kennewick.
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 drove back to her father’s house where they were met by police and paramedics, who attempted life saving measures. But Sarabia died before an ambulance could take her to a hospital.
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.
Reporter Cameron Probert contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 9:06 PM.