Sebastian Suarez, an 18-year-old Hispanic man, was killed in an encounter on a busy street in his hometown of Yakima, Washington. On the evening of October 28, 2021, Suarez was driving with his girlfriend and brother when he stopped his car near the intersection of South 20th Avenue and West Nob Hill Boulevard. He got out of the vehicle and began a verbal dispute with two young men who were walking in the area.
The argument escalated into a physical fight.
The confrontation turned deadly when the two individuals opened fire, shooting Suarez multiple times before fleeing north. Suarez stumbled and fell into the westbound lanes of traffic. One truck driver swerved his vehicle to block other cars from hitting him, and other bystanders rushed to perform first aid. Despite their efforts, Sebastian Suarez died at the scene.
The Yakima Police Department launched an immediate investigation. Detectives canvassed the area, spoke with witnesses, and recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the shooting. Within days, they identified two teenage suspects. On Friday evening, with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, police arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection with the homicide. On November 1, 2021, the second suspect, 16-year-old Luis Daniel Valencia, turned himself in to the Yakima County Juvenile Justice Center.
Both teenagers were charged with second-degree murder. Valencia was also charged with a firearms enhancement, while the 14-year-old faced an additional charge of second-degree unlawful firearms possession. Under Washington state law, Valencia was automatically charged as an adult in Yakima County Superior Court due to his age and the nature of the crime. Prosecutors, however, decided not to move the 14-year-old’s case to adult court, citing his lack of a prior criminal history. His case remained in the juvenile system.
In January 2022, Luis Daniel Valencia was arraigned in Yakima County Superior Court, where his attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. As of that month, the cases against both suspects were proceeding through their respective court systems.
