Second suspect pleads innocent in east Pasco drive-by shooting

Traybion T. Dickerson has pleaded innocent to allegations that in March 2014 he opened fire in an east Pasco neighborhood, wounding one man and sending multiple rounds into several occupied homes.

Dickerson, 24, of Pasco, faces an Oct. 14 trial in Franklin County Superior Court.

He is charged with first-degree assault and two counts of drive-by shooting.

Dickerson has been in custody since Aug. 18 on the charges. His bail is set at $75,000.

Also awaiting trial in the case is Kenyatta T. Turner, 31, who faces identical charges and was sentenced in July to one year in prison for a June 2014 shooting. His trial in the drive-by shooting case is Nov. 4.

Some court documents have spelled Turner’s first name as Kenyetta.

Court documents show Dickerson and Turner have the same Pasco address.

Pasco police responded to East Broadway Street on March 23, 2014, for reports of shots fired and found George Bernal wounded.

Though the gunshots also struck nearby homes, no one was injured inside the homes.

Officers determined at least two different firearms were used after finding a 7.62 mm-caliber casing, 9 mm Luger pistol casings and an unfired cartridge. One was believed to be from a rifle and penetrated the house walls, court documents said.

Witnesses reported the suspects were riding in a purple Dodge Challenger with tinted windows, and that at least one man got out of the car to fire shots.

Police familiar with the unique vehicle knew it belonged to Dickerson, and found the Dodge later that night at a Pasco motel. A witness told police Dickerson and Turner had been at the motel with the vehicle, documents said.

Another witness said Dickerson asked to borrow his vehicle on the day of the shooting “because he had to take care of something and his vehicle was too conspicuous.” The witness refused the request.

The Washington State Patrol Crime Lab tested the unfired cartridge found at the shooting scene and discovered Turner’s DNA, court documents said.

Turner later was arrested on an unrelated charge of being in possession of a 9 mm pistol, and officers found he was carrying 7.62-caliber rifle ammunition that was the same brand as the kind used in the drive-by shooting, documents said.

Turner pleaded guilty to second-degree assault this April for standing in the middle of East Butte Street and South Douglas Avenue in June 2014 and firing a pistol at a person in a car. He continued to shoot at the car as it drove away.

Officers recovered 25 shell casings at the scene.

Miguel A. Montenegro was hit in the foot after he ducked behind a vehicle. Police found him in one of the vehicles driving away, and Montenegro and the driver denied being involved.

His original charges of first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a gun were reduced in a plea agreement because of uncooperative witnesses.

Prosecutors recommended a sentence below the standard range because another person might have been the initial aggressor toward Turner, according to documents.

Turner’s criminal history includes attempting to elude police, two counts of delivering drugs and four counts of possessing drugs. The majority of the drug charges were for cocaine.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 10:31 PM with the headline "Second suspect pleads innocent in east Pasco drive-by shooting."