KENNEWICK — An accused Kennewick shooter reportedly talked of wanting to kill someone about a week or two before a deadly apartment complex shooting.
Angel V. D. Correa, now 17, allegedly told a friend about “wanting to get a body” this summer. Then on July 6, he riddled a car with bullets and shot a woman in the arm because she was screaming, claim prosecutors in court documents.
Taylor Scoles, 26, died and his brother’s girlfriend, Leah Hamm, was wounded.
While prosecutors have charged Correa with first-degree assault and illegally possessing a gun for shooting Hamm, he is not charged with murder, court documents show.
He appeared Wednesday by video as he pleaded innocent to the charges in Benton County Superior Court. He is currently being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Trial is scheduled for Oct. 21.
Correa, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, is charged as an adult because Washington state law allows 16- and 17-year-old suspects facing certain serious crimes to automatically be moved to adult court.
Witnesses told investigators that Correa was still holding a grudge from a July 2 disagreement with Scoles at a Fourth Avenue convenience store.
That escalated into another argument in the WinCo Foods parking lot on Clearwater Avenue the afternoon of July 6, court documents said.
WinCo and the Crown Village apartment complex are in the center of what has become one of the busiest areas recently for police and emergency crews. It saw more 911 calls than anywhere else in the city in 2022.
Apartment complex shooting
Court documents claim Scoles, his brother and his brother’s girlfriend followed Correa and the three other teens after they went from the grocery store parking lot to the Crown Village apartments about 7 p.m. on July 6.
The argument continued in the apartment complex parking lot. When Scoles stepped out of the car, Correa allegedly opened fire. The 26-year-old was shot several times in the chest, and Hamm was hit one time in the left forearm.
Police said the white Kia Optima was struck by bullets several times, including in the front and back passenger doors, the top of the passenger door door frame and the passenger door window.
Scoles died later at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.
While the suspects were identified quickly, it took Kennewick police awhile to identify and arrest Correa because people were initially afraid of retaliation, said court documents. The charges were eventually filed based on statements from two witnesses.
One person told investigators that Correa talked about wanting to kill someone before the summer was over. Correa also allegedly admitted to the person that he was the shooter and confirmed the type of bullets used, said the documents.
Correa allegedly claimed that Scoles was going toward his trunk, possibly for a weapon, but police say there is no evidence that Scoles was shot near the trunk.
Correa also allegedly told the person that he shot Hamm “only because she was screaming,” according to court documents.
