‘Unjust and cruel.’ Teen sentenced in ambush robbery turned killing of Tri-Cities student

A Tri-Cities teen was 15 when he and three others robbed and killed another teen. He’ll be in his 20s by the time he gets out of jail, but has promised to spend his time working on being a better person.

Earlier this month Jacquez Young, 17, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter for his role in the April 2022 shooting of Ricardo Rivera. The 17-year-old Rivera was ambushed while delivering $25 in marijuana oil.

Young didn’t admit that he committed manslaughter, but admitted that he faced the possibility of being convicted of first-degree murder if the case went to trial.

During Tuesdays’ sentencing, Young apologized to Rivera’s family and said someday he hopes they can forgive him, but he understands it will take time.

‘Exceptional sentence’

Tuesday, he was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in a Washington state juvenile detention center. Young will share responsibility with his co-defendants for paying $6,600 in restitution.

The manslaughter charge would normally carry a two-year maximum for Young, but prosecutors asked for an exceptional sentence of 6 1/2 years.

Young was the second of four teens to be sentenced for robbing and killing Rivera. Young’s older brother, Jacob, 19, is serving 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

Also, brothers Vontell Wesson, 17, and Syntrell Wesson, 16, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder earlier this month. They have not been sentenced yet. The four were part of a group of gang members.

At the time, prosecutors said the four teens only had one gun, so it would be difficult to show that they were all aware of what was going to happen. Prosecutors believe it was Vontell Wesson who fled with the gun.

Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Julie Long revealed to the court that in his final moments, the Kennewick student called his mother.

As his attackers fled, police body camera footage showed his mother frantically trying to call him back.

It’s footage his family has had to watch over and over during court proceedings for the four attackers, Long said.

Emotional hearing

During Young’s sentencing, his defense attorney Brian Hultgrenn said that while they dispute some of the state’s account, ultimately they did not want to risk going to trial and facing the possibility of Young spending decades in prison.

Hultgrenn said that since his arrest, Young has committed to trying to face what he was done and turn his life around.

He and prosecutors believe that of the four teens involved in the attack, Jacquez Young has the least amount of culpability, and may have felt pressured to participate without being aware that one of the other teens had a gun.

Judge Sam Swanberg said that he hopes that Rivera’s family can begin to find peace. He told Young that he should look at this sentencing as the beginning of a path toward being a better person.

“I know you’ve indicated a desire to redeem yourself, I hope you can continue on this path to find meaning for your life and hope ... you can find a way to make people’s lives better and make society a more positive place,” Swanberg said.

“You should link yourself to the victim in this matter, that you owe it to him and his family to be better.”

While speaking before his sentencing, Young said he was sorry for his role in the attack and that his actions were that of an immature teenager with no vision or plan for his life. He said that he has since committed to doing better and encouraging others to do the same.

He said that the Benton Franklin Juvenile Justice Center has given him a chance to take control of his life and eventually become a productive member of society.

“I didn’t understand the consequences or how much backfire could occur ... ,” Young said. “The last 18 months I confronted my actions, I couldn’t ignore them anymore.”

“I’m not a bad person, but a kid who made a mistake,” he said. “I’ve distanced myself from who I was and my past. I hope that someday I can have forgiveness from the people I’ve hurt.”

Rivera’s brother Jose said that he’s glad Young has decided to work on himself and obtain a GED and celebrate birthdays and eventually choosing a career, but the Rivera family will never get to do that.

“As for our family we will not get to see Ricardo graduate high school, even though he was a straight a student,” he said. “Last year all we could do was take to social media and wish him a happy heavenly birthday and visit his gravestone.”

Though all of his brother’s attackers have now pleaded guilty, Jose Rivera said his family does not feel like they’ve “won.”

“There’s no way of winning when your brother has passed,” he said. “We are content with the outcome so far, but there is no way for us to win. There is not enough time that anyone could get that would get my brother back.”

Ricardo’s mother Emma Perez also spoke. She described her son as a hardworking young man, with a big heart. A young man with big hopes and dreams.

“This hurts us very much, this terrible tragedy. Our lives have changed completely,” she said. “The way his life was taken was very unjust and cruel, completely painful.”

Role in the robbery

Young was 15 when he was accused of being part of a group of four teens who lured Rivera to a neighborhood near the 2100 block of Rhode Island Court in Columbia Center Estates claiming they wanted to buy marijuana oil.

Young was initially arrested and charged with the murder as a juvenile, but a judge ruled he should face adult charges.

Prosecutors say the Youngs and Wessons hatched a plot to rob Rivera. At first they aimed for a Pasco neighborhood, but they rescheduled it for the west Kennewick neighborhood on April 28, 2022.

Jacob Young used the name “Dontae100” on the SnapChat messenger app to set up a meeting to drop off a gram of marijuana oil, worth about $25.

Rivera was met by the group and a witness saw him struggling with them outside of his car. At that point, one of the teens allegedly shot him.

They allegedly grabbed about $5,000 in cash that Rivera brought with him.

All four teens had ties to the Gangster Disciples and were part of a group of gang members who called themselves the “Blitz Crew,” according to court documents.

While not an official gang, the group drew members from the Gangster Disciples and the Crips, police have said.