He helped kill a Tri-Cities man over a drug debt. Then helped police find the body

A Tri-Cities man admitted to shooting a man because of an $800 drug debt and then helping to hide his body.

Prosecutors agreed to a deal with Javier J. Santana, 48, after he helped police uncover what is believed to be Anibal Arreola’s body, according to court documents.

Santana pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm in Franklin County Superior Court and was sentenced by Judge Bronson Brown to 15 years in prison.

The 39-year-old went missing in March 2024. While police believed he was dead, they hadn’t been able to find his body.

Santana helped lead investigators to it on March 3 on the Benton County side of the Columbia River near the Vernita Bridge near the Hanford site, according to a Kennewick police Facebook post.

“Law enforcement might not have found them on their own,” Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Astley wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Indeed their searching had focused on the total opposite side of the river. Without the defendant’s efforts the victim’s remains might have never been located.”

Santana apologized during his Tuesday sentencing in Franklin County Superior Court.

He faced a sentencing range of 16 1/2 to 24 1/2 years in prison.

Prosecutors and the defense attorney asked for a sentence below the minimum end of the range because of Santana’s help finding the body and providing information to help prosecuting others involved in the shooting, court documents said.

His defense attorney Michael Vander Sys said prosecutors were in a much weaker position before Santana’s help since they didn’t have either the murder weapon or Arreola’s body.

“A case with no weapon or body and one based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence almost guarantees a trial,” Vander Sys wrote in his sentencing memorandum. “The number of possible arguments and opportunities to poke holes in the state’s case are too numerous to count.”

“However, that’s not what Mr. Santana decided to do. Almost immediately, Mr. Santana wanted to reach a resolution and wanted to help the family achieve closure by offering to show law enforcement the location of the remains.”

Three people continue to face charges related to the murder.

Jason H. L. Bennett, 41, and Kimberly R. Salas, 47, are each charged with premeditated first-degree murder.

Vintley D. Harper, 38, is accused of first-degree rendering criminal assistance, evidence tampering and making false or misleading statements to a public servant.

Family’s loss

Family members described Arreola as a positive person, who brought people together and pushed them to be better.

“Three people chose to take his life — a precious life — and in doing so, they threw away their own,” Arreola’s niece said. “They stole more than just one person; they stole the heart of our family.”

Arreola’s brother Omar Arreola reached out to police in April 2024 about his brother’s disappearance and rumors that he’d been killed.

He said since the disappearance, his family had lived without knowing what happened to Anibal Arreola. But knowing what happened didn’t make it any easier.

He said the killers had stolen celebrations and simple moments they should be able to have with him. He said that no sentence or punishment would be enough because it wouldn’t return his brother.

“My family and I will never stop mourning Anibal ... and will also never stop fighting for him,” he said. “His name will not be forgotten. His story will not be erased. And no matter what happens, you will never escape the truth of what you have done.”

Disappearance and murder

Police had learned Arreola disappeared on March 12, 2024, and there were rumors that he’d been killed. His cellphone use and social media posts also ended that day, court documents said.

Salas reportedly called him that day, and a witness heard her “telling him off.” He responded by saying he would “be right over.” Cell phone data showed he went to her home on the 1700 block of Brown Street.

Salas and Arreola both allegedly were drug sellers. Investigators allege Salas arranged his death because he owed about $800 to a supplier.

Santana allegedly told a witness that he shot Arreola six time and Salas stabbed him. She allegedly took photos of his body as confirmation of his death for her dealer.

The suspected dealer has not been charged in the murder.

Arreola’s body was reportedly put into a garbage can and loaded into the back of a truck on March 13.

They allegedly drove to the Vernita Bridge and dumped the taped-up garbage can into the Columbia River near the Grant County side of the bridge, near the north end of the Hanford nuclear site.

Dive teams had searched the area in the past, but hadn’t found the garbage can or body.

This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 3:36 PM.