Teens pulled knife, guns after 1 lost fight during brawl at Claybell Park in Richland
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- Police linked Anthiny M. Diaz to an armed teen brawl at Claybell Park in April.
- Diaz allegedly brandished a knife and handed a gun to an associate during fight.
- SWAT arrested Diaz in June; he faces five second-degree assault charges.
An 18-year-old Kennewick man is accused of trying to stab several people during an April brawl at Claybell Park in south Richland.
Anthiny M. Diaz allegedly was on one side of a growing series of fights between two groups of teens in Kennewick, court documents said.
Investigators didn’t say what their motives were for this feud, but about 20 people converged on the park on April 10. It’s unclear how many were on each side, but Diaz arrived with several other participants who were wearing black clothes and ski masks, court documents said.
When Diaz lost a fight, he pulled out a knife and threatened to stab five people. At the same time, the people Diaz came with pulled out guns, including one that appeared to be an “AR” style gun with a foldable stock.
Witnesses said Diaz also had a gun that he handed to one of the men he had arrived with. They allegedly pointed the guns at the other teens.
Diaz and several of the other people wearing masks ganged up on the man who had beaten Diaz. When the other teen’s friends tried to intervene, they were threatened by the masked men.
When someone fired a gun, everyone started running. Five people reported hearing bullets whipping past them, and hitting the ground where they were running. None of them were hit.
They were fleeing as Richland police arrived and stopped five people, including three who Diaz allegedly threatened, and the man who Diaz and the masked men had attacked. Investigators said he was left with a concussion and a hematoma.
Police found several shell casings as well as a Glock handgun with a folding stock that turned a handgun into a carbine. The gun had also been modified to act as fully automatic.
Kennewick Criminal Apprehension Team detectives and the Tri-City Regional SWAT team arrested Diaz on June 4.
He is being held in the Benton County jail on $200,000 bail on five counts of second-degree assault.