2nd assault suspect arrested in shooting of a teen near Columbia Center mall
A second man was arrested in connection to a drive-by shooting that left a teen wounded near Columbia Center mall.
Police have been looking for Bryan De Los Santos, 18, for about a week in connection with an Oct. 28 shooting outside of Shari’s Cafe and Pies and Men’s Warehouse.
A $500,000 warrant was issued for the teen on charges of drive-by shooting and first-degree assault. He is facing an aggravating factor of using a gun during the crime.
He was also wanted on charges of illegally possessing a gun and resisting arrest in a separate case.
The Kennewick police Criminal Apprehension Team and Tri-City Regional SWAT members were looking for De Los Santos near the 1000 block of West Fourth Avenue about 2 p.m. Tuesday.
He ran from the officers but was caught and then booked into the Benton County jail.
De Los Santos is the second man arrested in the shooting. Adrian Cole Garza, 20, was arrested shortly after the crime.
He is charged with drive-by shooting and first-degree assault in Benton County Superior Court, and is being held on $500,000 bail.
Parking lot shooting
Shortly before 6 p.m. Friday, a gray Dodge Charger pulled up to two males wearing red in the Bed, Bath and Beyond parking lot across from the Columbia Center mall, investigators said.
A passenger, wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, black pants and blue shoes got out of the car with an “assault rifle” to confront them, according to witnesses.
The men from the Charger chased the males in red behind Shari’s and fired five shots, said court documents.
One round hit a teen in the leg.
Police say the restaurant and parking lot were both full of customers at the time. Dispatch reports indicated that at least two elderly customers who were shaken up by the shooting and had to be checked by medics.
The men in the Charger fled and later that night the Tri-Cities SWAT team was mobilized to an Olympia Place home in Kennewick, where Cole was arrested.
Investigators say they have linked Cole’s gray Dodge Charger to several other shootings, as well as bullet casings that were matched via ballistics testing to the gun they believe was used, say court documents.
Cole was linked to at least seven shootings in the Tri-Cities, according to court documents. In several of the incidents, he was targeting men wearing red.
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 5:29 PM.