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Murder of Benton City Coach Bob Mars No. 1 story of the year
Popular coach Bob Mars killed
The Labor Day weekend death (I.E. Murder!) of Bob Mars, a pillar of the Tri-City sports community, stunned his colleagues and students and raised the issue of increased gang activity.
Mars was a 44-year-old Richland father and a longtime coach and sixth-grade teacher in the Kiona-Benton City School District.
He was stabbed to death late Sept. 4 in what Benton County prosecutors described as part of a gang initiation that earned a 14-year-old boy a fresh tattoo and a murder charge. <
br>
Mars was found dead with a stab wound to his stomach the next morning inside the hallway of the middle school. He'd [col
or=red]reportedly been robbed [/color]while stopping by the school the night before to drop off a videotape of the high school's winning football game.
Jordan E. Castillo is charged in Superior Court with murder and attempted theft. Co-defendant Robert A. Suarez, 16, who allegedly encouraged Castillo, also is charged with murder.
Mars' death came just three months after a 16-year-old Kennewick boy was gunned down near his home in what police described as a gang-related shooting.
Gonzalo Magana died June 7 from two gunshot wounds in the chest. Police still are looking for a teen, Luis Barragan, for questio
ning
in the case.
The Missing Words at the 'Seattle Times'
(abstract) "Kennewick: Coach-Murder Trial Postponed to 3/2005", in Seattle Times, December 18, 2004. p. B3:
The trial for a [Mexican] teenage
r charged with killing Benton City football coach Bob Mars has been delayed until 3/14/2005. Jordan Castillo, 14, charged as an adult, agreed to the delay.
[Note: Mars was killed in a Mexican gang initiation that required the murder of a "White man" for membership; Castillo was one of three attackers.]
Murder of Benton City Coach Bob Mars No. 1 story of the year
Popular coach Bob Mars killed
The Labor Day weekend death (I.E. Murder!) of Bob Mars, a pillar of the Tri-City sports community, stunned his colleagues and students and raised the issue of increased gang activity.
Mars was a 44-year-old Richland father and a longtime coach and sixth-grade teacher in the Kiona-Benton City School District.
He was stabbed to death late Sept. 4 in what Benton County prosecutors described as part of a gang initiation that earned a 14-year-old boy a fresh tattoo and a murder charge. <
br>
Mars was found dead with a stab wound to his stomach the next morning inside the hallway of the middle school. He'd [col
or=red]reportedly been robbed [/color]while stopping by the school the night before to drop off a videotape of the high school's winning football game.
Jordan E. Castillo is charged in Superior Court with murder and attempted theft. Co-defendant Robert A. Suarez, 16, who allegedly encouraged Castillo, also is charged with murder.
Mars' death came just three months after a 16-year-old Kennewick boy was gunned down near his home in what police described as a gang-related shooting.
Gonzalo Magana died June 7 from two gunshot wounds in the chest. Police still are looking for a teen, Luis Barragan, for questio
ning
in the case.
The Missing Words at the 'Seattle Times'
(abstract) "Kennewick: Coach-Murder Trial Postponed to 3/2005", in Seattle Times, December 18, 2004. p. B3:
The trial for a [Mexican] teenage
r charged with killing Benton City football coach Bob Mars has been delayed until 3/14/2005. Jordan Castillo, 14, charged as an adult, agreed to the delay.
[Note: Mars was killed in a Mexican gang initiation that required the murder of a "White man" for membership; Castillo was one of three attackers.]