A 17-year-old suspect arrested September 16 following a shooting and crash in Yakima in which three women were killed continues to be held in the Yakima County Juvenile jail as an investigation continues. Attorney's for the teen who is facing a charge of vehicular homicide asked but were denied a request to release the suspect last Thursday. At that time bail was maintained at $250,000. But the bail was lowered to $150,000 during a hearing on Tuesday. Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic says if the teen is released on bail he'll be required to be on home monitoring.
Also on Tuesday, Yakima County Superior Court Judge Ruth Reukauf recused herself from the case after a comment from the Yakima Police Chief that he was upset the teen wasn't being held in juvenile jail at the time of the crash. The judge says she never had any contact with the chief but didn't want any misunderstandings so she recused herself from the case. Another pretrial hearing is set for October 21 with the teens trial in Juvenile court set for November 7.
Police describe the teen as a well known Yakima gang member who suffered a broken femur in the crash.
Yakima Police say the teen should have been behind bars on an assault charge on an unrelated matter before the shooting and crash in Yakima.
Before the crash Yakima Police say people in two vehicles exchanged gunfire at the intersection of South 1st Street and East Yakima Avenue.
During the shooting a 21-year-old woman driving an Audi was shot and killed. The 17-year-old teen, who was a passenger in the Audi, pulled the woman into the back seat and jumped into the driver seat and took off eventually getting into the crash on Lincoln Avenue.
a 21-year-old female, along with her 52-year-old mother died instantly.
Authorities are still searching for the suspects involved in the shooting in downtown Yakima before the crash. The case is currently under investigation by the Yakima Police Major Crimes and Gang Unit, along with the Yakima Police Traffic Unit. Anyone with information, video, or may have witnessed the collision or shooting is encouraged to contact YPD at:(509) 575-6200
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