3 Tri-Cities teens under 16 could be tried as adults in separate murder cases

Prosecutors want three young teens charged with murder to face the charges in adult court.

Victor Ariel Cervantes, 14, and Layshawne Bethea-Dickerson, 13, are the latest to be charged with premeditated first-degree murder in Benton-Franklin Juvenile Court for two unrelated deaths.

Cervantes is accused of killing Julian Chavez, 19, as part of an Oct. 29 robbery when the older teen was allegedly dropping off $100 in vape pens, marijuana and rolling papers.

Bethea-Dickerson allegedly wielded a gun during the Oct. 15 ambush that led to the death of Jatzivy Sarabia, 18, in Kennewick.

Deputy prosecutors in both cases have asked for a hearing where they would argue that the teens should be tried as adults.

Under Washington state law, teens younger than 15 who are charged with first- or second-degree murder can have the charges transferred to adult court.

But to make the switch, a judge must decide that it’s in the best interest of the juvenile or the public.

While prosecutors have requested a hearing on the issue, neither has been scheduled.

A third Benton County teen charged with murder and facing a move from juvenile to adult court. A “decline” hearing for Jacquez Young, 15, is scheduled for this week.

Young is one of four people accused in the shooting death of 17-year-old Ricardo Rivera.

Deadly robbery

Investigators believe Victor Ariel Cervantes, 14, arranged to meet Julian Chavez, 19, in the apartment complex on the 1100 block of West Fifth Avenue in Kennewick shortly before 9:15 p.m.

Cervantes allegedly contacted the older teen using the Instagram account “ak_lokote13” to organize buying $100 in vape pens, marijuana and rolling papers, according to court documents.

According to security video, two people approached the Prius that Chavez was driving. The video shows muzzle flashes from gunshots.

The Prius begins to move forward until it’s entirely in view and another flash is seen before the car hits a parked car.

A teen is seen getting out of the rear driver’s seat and running south down the road.

When police arrived, they found Chavez dead inside the car.

The Washington State Patrol Crime Lab found the bullets had punched through the back of the driver’s seat and broken a window in the car. At least one .45 caliber round was found in the back seat, and several shell casings were found.

Police also discovered Chavez’s cellphone in the car, revealing his conversation with ak_lokote13. When police searched the car, they didn’t find any vape pens, marijuana or rolling papers.

Police linked the Instagram account to Cervantes, and found two notebooks from his home with references to AK Lakote and that indicated that he was a member of the Mexican Pride Sureno gang.

Investigators got a copy of his Instagram messages with a search warrant, which showed Cervantes had deactivated his Instagram account on Oct. 30, after he asked another user how to.

In another message four days before the shooting, Cervantes allegedly said, “Let’s hit a lick on some plugs.” Detectives said that is slang for committing a robbery, according to court documents.

Location data from Cervantes’ phone put him in the area of where the shooting occurred, and then fleeing from the neighborhood shortly after. The phone eventually traveled to a location in Pasco known for gang activity.

Kennewick ambush

Layshawne Bethea-Dickerson, 13, is one of three people charged in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Hanford High grad Jatzivy Sarabia.

He had been part of a group of teens including Sarabia, who traveled to Spokane the day before the shooting, according to court documents.

One of the women on the trip got into an argument with Isaiah Combs, 19. He allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at her head. Bethea-Dickerson was allegedly there when the threat happened.

Sarabia returned to the Tri-Cities with the woman and two others the morning of Oct. 15. And Combs and Bethea-Dickerson traveled back to the Tri-Cities with another woman.

Both groups ended up at a Kennewick bar at 9:20 p.m. the same night and Combs reportedly invited them to a party on Yew Street in Kennewick.

Combs was riding in a dark-colored Honda, while Bethea-Dickerson was in a light-colored vehicle when they left the bar and allegedly shot at the Jeep with Sarabia and three other women inside.

Two shots went through the front window and Sarabia was hit in the neck.

The two cars that reportedly fired the shots returned to the bar and several people got out. Inside, Bethea-Dickerson allegedly bragged that he killed Sarabia.

“Bethea appeared to be proud of what he had done. The other individual around Bethea laughed along and did not take credit for killing Jatzivy or contradict his claims,” said court documents.

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.