Kennewick teen told friends he wanted to kill someone. Now he regrets what he did

A Kennewick teen said he planned to kill a someone last summer and he succeeded.

Nearly a year later, Angel V. D. Correa, 17, said he wants to turn his life around and be a better person as he heads to a state detention center for four years.

“I want to say that I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” Correa told Superior Court Judge Bronson Brown in a crowded courtroom Monday. “I realized what I’ve done and the mistakes that I’ve made and the people who I’ve surrounded myself with are only going to lead to two options — dead or in jail.”

The teen pleaded guilty this week to first-degree assault and illegally possessing a gun as part of a shooting at the Crown Village Apartments near Kennewick’s WinCo Foods in July 2024.

Taylor Scoles, 26, was killed and his brother’s wife was wounded when Correa started shooting in the complex parking lot during an argument with Scoles.

“Our family is shattered. We’re struggling to navigate life without him,” said Leah Hamm, who was hurt in the shooting. “We now face the daily reminder of absence, the empty seat at our dinner table, the unspoken words of love that will never be shared, the dreams and goals we all had.”

She said Scoles has a young daughter who will now grow up without knowing her father.

Correa was 16 at the time but was charged as adult because of a Washington state law that allows prosecutors to charge 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for certain serious crimes.

Deputy Prosecutor Brendan Siefken told the judge that prosecutors didn’t charge Correa with murder because of a possible claim of self defense.

Teen sentence

Correa faced 8 1/2 to 11 years in prison or a juvenile detention center for the crimes. Siefken asked for four years because of his age.

He said the top sentence that Correa would have received as a juvenile was two years, so he requested a mid-range sentence.

Defense attorney Dennis Hanson asked for just two years. He said he’s seen Correa change since his arrest.

“He’s going to be working toward classes and betterment of himself,” Hanson said. “He knows what he need to do to not be put in this situation.”

Brown called it a tough case because of his young age but he said two years wasn’t enough time and agreed with the prosecution’s recommendation.

“This court really hopes, Mr. Correa, that you were sincere and that you do want to change and you do want to be productive,” Brown said. “There’s only two things you can do, you can ... either continue to be destructive when you get out and cause more pain and more harm and heartache, or you can change and become productive.”

Apartment complex shooting

Witnesses say Correa and Scoles got into a dispute July 2 at a Fourth Avenue convenience store in Kennewick.

That escalated into an argument July 6 in the WinCo Foods parking lot on Clearwater Avenue, court documents said.

Scoles, his brother and Hamm reportedly followed Correa and three other teens from the parking lot to the Crown Village apartments about 7 p.m.

The argument continued in the parking lot. When Scoles stepped out of the car, Correa opened fire. The 26-year-old was shot several times in the chest, and Hamm was hit one time in the left forearm.

While the suspects were identified quickly, it took Kennewick police awhile to identify and arrest Correa because people were initially afraid of retaliation, said court documents.

One person told investigators that Correa previously talked about wanting to kill someone before the summer was over. Correa also allegedly admitted to the person that he was the shooter and confirmed the type of bullets used, said the documents.

Correa claimed Scoles was heading toward his trunk, possibly to get a weapon, but police say there is no evidence Scoles was shot near the trunk.