Police say 13-year-old bragged at bar about killing recent Hanford grad in ambush shooting

Cory McCoy
·4 min read
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The 13-year-old arrested in the ambush killing of a recent Hanford grad claimed he was the one who killed her, police say.

Investigators say that details in witness accounts of the shooting led them to believe that more than one person may have been shooting at the Jeep that Jatzivy Sarabia was riding in on Oct. 15.

That hunch led them to identifying shell casings from three different guns believed to have been used in the killing, according to new court documents.

Layshawne Bethea was arrested Thursday on a warrant for first-degree murder. He is the third person arrested in connection to the shooting. Isaiah Combs, 19, also has been charged with murder.

Bethea had his first court appearance in Benton County Juvenile Court on Friday. Bail is set at $1 million.

Murder suspect Isaiah Combs, 20, grins while looking around a Benton County Superior courtroom Friday during his preliminary hearing for his alleged involvement in the Oct. 15, 2022 shooting death of Jatzivy Sarabia in the area of Highway 397 and East 3rd Avenue. Combs is seated next to his defense attorney Eric Scott.
Murder suspect Isaiah Combs, 20, grins while looking around a Benton County Superior courtroom Friday during his preliminary hearing for his alleged involvement in the Oct. 15, 2022 shooting death of Jatzivy Sarabia in the area of Highway 397 and East 3rd Avenue. Combs is seated next to his defense attorney Eric Scott.

Investigation

Investigators believe the ambush stemmed from an argument that started in Spokane between Combs and the owner of the Jeep, Aubreyanna Asselin, on Oct. 14.

During that argument Combs pointed a gun at Asselin’s head. Bethea and all of the women in the jeep during the shooting were present at the time.

The women left Spokane without Combs the next day. Combs was picked up by Carnell Green and his girlfriend and brought back to the Tri-Cities.

Green has since been charged with rendering criminal assistance. After the shooting Green reportedly helped take Combs and Bethea back to Spokane, and intended to “say their goodbyes.” At the time, Bethea’s role in the crime was unclear.

Suspect Carnell Green raises his hand to acknowledge to Court Commissioner Megan Whitmire he can see and hear the proceedings of his preliminary appearance via a video link in Benton County Superior Court. Prosecutors have charged Green with rendering criminal assistance in connection to the Oct. 15, 2022 shooting death of Jatzivy Sarabia in the area of Highway 397 and East 3rd Avenue.

Investigators now believe that it was Bethea who fired the round that killed Asselin.

Once back in the Tri-Cities, Combs and Bethea met with Asselin, Sarabia and the other women at 3-City Sports Bar on Columbia Drive in downtown Kennewick.

There, investigators say the women agreed to follow Combs to a party on Yew Street.

Before heading to the party, Asselin drove back to her father’s house, because he wanted to know who she was with after hearing about the incident in Spokane.

Combs left the bar with Green and his girlfriend, while Bethea got into a vehicle with people they knew from Spokane.

As Asselin began to drive to the party, investigators say security footage shows the vehicles Combs and Bethea were in pull in front of Asselin and drive side-by-side keeping pace, according to the documents.

Investigators believe this is when they began firing on the jeep. It is unclear whether they believe there were three people shooting or if Combs or Bethea fired more than one gun.

The documents include descriptions of the gun Combs used, which was the same one he pulled on Asselin in Spokane, and that Bethea may have had a sawed-off shotgun and pistol with extended magazine.

Asselin began to flee, arriving back at her father’s house at 11:48 p.m.

The cars that Combs and Bethea were in arrived back at 3-City Sports Bar at 11:46 p.m., and the occupants went back inside. According to witnesses, Bethea then began bragging that he killed one of the women.

Witnesses say Bethea claimed that Asselin or Sarabia “sat up at the wrong time and I shot her twice in the face.”

Traffic drives past multiple police investigation evidence paint circles on Highway 397 where Jatzivy Sarabia, 18, was apparently killed on Oct. 15, 2022 when shots were fired into the car she was riding in, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement officials believe that the deadly confrontation between two cars started about 11:40 p.m., when gunfire was reported on or near Highway 397, also called Chemical Drive.

According to the court documents, witnesses said Bethea was proud of what he had done, and the others laughed but no one else attempted to take credit for the killing or contradict Bethea’s claim.

In a recorded phone call to someone at the juvenile detention center, Bethea is said to have claimed he was with Combs when he was arrested on Oct. 20 and hid in the bushes because he had a warrant.

Combs, who was seen laughing and smiling during his court appearance with Sarabia’s family sitting just feet away, could face up to life in prison if convicted.

Kimberly Sarabia, mother of murder victim Jatzivy Sarabia, wears a memorial shirt to honor her slain daughter during a Benton County Superior Court hearing for one of the suspects in the case.
Kimberly Sarabia, mother of murder victim Jatzivy Sarabia, wears a memorial shirt to honor her slain daughter during a Benton County Superior Court hearing for one of the suspects in the case.

Investigators obtained a warrant for first-degree murder for Bethea on Nov. 2. He was arrested during a traffic stop by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals office the next day.

Bethea is one of two teens arrested this week for murder. The other — a 14-year-old who is in custody but has not yet been charged — is suspected of killing 19-year-old Julian Chavez.