Cable bridge shut down during arrest of 2nd teen connected to Kennewick murder
The cable bridge was briefly shut down Thursday as police arrested a teen murder suspect, who was traveling in an Uber.
The teen is the second 14-year-old accused in the killing of Julian Chavez, 19, in a car on the 1100 block of West Fifth Avenue at 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 29.
It’s believed that Chavez was killed as part of a robbery when he was allegedly dropping off $100 in vape pens, marijuana and rolling papers.
Kennewick Criminal Apprehension Team detectives followed the teen from a Sixth Avenue home after he had gotten picked up, Kennewick police said in a release.
Officers stopped the car about 1 p.m. and arrested him.
The teen, who was not named, is being held in Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Police are also searching the home he left from on the 800 block of Sixth Avenue.
Officers have not released details about what role the teen played in Chavez’s murder.
Another 14-year-old, Victor Ariel Cervantes, was arrested on Nov. 2 and is facing a first-degree murder charge in Benton-Franklin Juvenile Court. Prosecutors have filed a motion that would allow them to charge Cervantes as an adult.
Murder charges
Investigators believe Cervantes arranged to meet Chavez at an 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. Only one of the teens was seen getting into the vehicle, according to the initial affidavits filed in the case. 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.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 3:40 PM.