2 teens face adult murder charges in botched jewelry theft killing in Pasco
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- Pasco police arrested two teens in connection with a fatal attempted robbery.
- Victim Paul Jacobo was shot during a struggle in a botched jewelry theft.
- Prosecutors plan to charge both teen suspects as adults.
Two teens are being held on suspicion of murder for allegedly killing a Pasco 18-year-old in a driveway after a botched robbery Sunday night.
A Kennewick 16-year-old and a 15-year-old are suspected of gunning down Paul Jacobo about 9:30 p.m. on north Sixth Avenue near Agate Street, according to Pasco police and the Franklin County coroner and prosecutor.
The older teen also is being held on suspicion of attempted first-degree robbery and drive-by shooting, said Prosecutor Shawn Sant.
He is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail.
Coroner Curtis McGary said an autopsy confirmed that Jacobo died from a gunshot wound.
Sant said the teens are currently being held at the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center pending the filing of formal charges.
The 16-year-old will automatically go into adult court because of a Washington state law that says 16- and 17-year-olds charged with certain serious crimes must face adult charges.
The prosecutor’s office will pursue adult charges against the other teen as well, Sant told the Herald.
Police said they are continuing to investigate and asking anyone with information on the shooting to email Detective Andrew Taylor at taylor2@pasco-wa.gov.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the victim,” Pasco police said in the Facebook post.
Botched robbery attempt
Jacobo and another 18-year-old friend met up with two teens that night, according to court documents. They were in the backseat of the 16-year-old’s father’s Jeep when it started to have lighting problems.
They parked on the 700 block of Agate Street and that’s when the 16-year-old pulled out a gun, leaned into the backseat and tried to pull a necklace off Jacobo’s neck.
The gun fell out of the 16-year-old’s hand and Jacobo’s friend noticed the weapon had no magazine with bullets in it.
Jacobo grabbed the gun, got out of the Jeep and started racing across yards. His friend also climbed out and up onto the roof of a nearby house, said investigators in the court documents.
Security video showed the Jeep pull onto West Agate Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue. The video doesn’t show the shots being fired, but police found several shell casings in that area. The Jeep then pulled away and officers tracked it and pulled it over in Benton City, said the documents. The 16-year-old was in the passenger’s seat, they said.
Several people called 911 in the Pasco neighborhood to report the gunshots, and Jacobo was found in a driveway with a gunshot wound to his chest. Police and medics tried to save his life, but he died at the scene.
Police found Jacobo’s wallet and a gun near his body. It’s not clear who the gun belonged to or if it was used in the shooting.
Underneath Jocobo’s body, they also found the empty gun that the 16-year-old reportedly dropped earlier in the Jeep.
The 16-year-old was arrested at a Deschutes Avenue apartment complex in Kennewick where he lived with his parents.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 5:06 PM.