Trial starts for alleged gunman in ambush killing of Richland graduate

A Spokane teen came to the Tri-Cities with a gun and a plan to use it, prosecutors said.

But his defense attorney said Marcell A. E. Cola, then 16, came looking for sex, and was innocent of the ambush that ended up killing 18-year-old Jatzivy Sarabia.

The attorneys presented their cases in the trial for Cola, now 20, who is charged with aggravated first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Cola is one of four teens accused of opening fire on four young women inside a Jeep on Oct. 15, 2022 after an argument and a threat the day before. Sarabia, who was sitting in the back seat, was hit.

The trial, which has seen several hearings, has already been contentious, and that continued Wednesday. Before the attorneys finished opening statements, Prosecutor Eric Eisinger objected four times and called for a mistrial, a rare move for a prosecutor.

Eisinger called for the mistrial after defense attorney Bob Thompson mentioned that his client had been in the jail since his arrest in 2024. The prosecutor believed it would make it look like Cola had been treated unfairly.

The prosecutor later withdrew the motion.

Sarabia’s mother was in the courtroom, watching quietly while she took notes.

This is the first of the four alleged shooters to reach a trial. Darrious A Thomason, 20, and Layshawne Bethea-Dickerson, 17 are scheduled for June 15, and Isaiah S.R. Combs, 23, is scheduled for May 11.

Ambush shooting

The shooting was motivated by a disagreement between Combs and Aubreyanna Asselin during a trip to Spokane on the day before the murder, Eisenger told the jury.

Asselin and three girls, including Sarabia went to the city with Combs and Bethea-Dickerson on Oct. 14. They were in a parking lot outside a bar when she said something that made Combs angry, Eisinger said. Combs allegedly pulled out a gun and held it to Asselin’s head.

After the dispute, the women left Spokane without Combs or Bethea-Dickerson. They were picked up and driven to the Tri-Cities.

Cola, Thomason and two other men came from Spokane to the Tri-Cities on Oct. 15. Eisinger said that prior to the trip Cola had bought a handgun with an extended magazine. He planned to show a video where Cola had the gun an hour before the shooting.

The women and Combs met again in the parking lot of the 3-Cities Sports Bar, Eisinger said. Combs started arguing with Asselin again, but it seemed like the dispute resolved itself.

They all agreed to go to a party in Finley on Yew Street. The women went in a Jeep and stopped at a home in downtown Kennewick, while the other two groups went ahead.

When Combs, Cola and the others went to the Finley party, they were sent away. They were allegedly waiting when the Jeep approached them.

As the women were on East Third Avenue, they saw the two cars pull in front of them. They turned around and began to follow them back toward Chemical Drive. As they turned right onto the road, the men opened fire.

“There was a torrent of gunfire, not just from Mr. Combs, but from others, including this defendant, Marcell Cola,” Eisinger said. “In a moment, absolutely everything changed. There was no warning.”

Two shots went through the front windshield and Sarabia, who was sitting in the center back seat, was hit. The girls drove to a Benton Street home in Kennewick where they called police.

While first responders attempted to save Sarabia’s life, they weren’t successful.

Shortly after the shooting, Cola allegedly tried to sell the gun for cheap through social media, Eisinger said.

“The extended magazine that he just got a few days before the shooting, he was now turning around and selling it, and selling it for cheaper,” Eisinger said. “The evidence in this case will show that Marcel Cola knew that law enforcement was after him and he tried to cover his tracks. He deleted his social media account and when law enforcement contacted him he denied he was even in the Tri-Cities when it occurred.”

Cola was arrested in 2024, and has been held in the Benton County jail for the past two years waiting for the trial.

Innocent of shooting

Thompson, who brought scales with him as a prop for the jury, said Sarabia’s death was a tragedy, but his client was innocent of the shooting.

Cola didn’t have any motive to murder anyone. Thompson said his client came to the Tri-Cities hoping to have sex.

“So you have two choices that you’re going to have to wrestle with,” he said. “What’s more probable? My client came down to hopefully have sex or did he come down with a weapon to kill somebody that he had no beef with and didn’t even know.”

He argued that Torrey A. Daniels, one of the men in the car with Cola, was trying to avoid the murder charge, so he lied about his involvement. Daniels has said that he was in the middle of the back seat in the car from Spokane.

Thompson argued the 6-foot-1 Daniels would likely have been one of the outside seats.

“When I was growing up and I think this would be your experience ... when you’re little, you’re in the middle,” Thompson said. “Torrey Daniels is desperate because he was a shooter.”

He also said video would show Daniels getting out of the car before Bethea-Dickerson.

Thompson said the Combs, Cola and the others went to the party in Finley and were confronted by people with rifles. He suggested that they were chased away from the property.

“It doesn’t come together. It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “Emotion drives people, but the emotion shouldn’t be directed at Marcel. It should be directed at the people who actually committed this crime.”