Three teens charged in kidnapping of great-grandmother

KENNEWICK — Prosecutors have charged three Washington teens in connection with the kidnapping of an elderly woman who was stuffed in the trunk of her car and driven more than 200 miles to a Walmart near Portland.

Sixteen-year-old Dyllan K. Martin has been charged as an adult in Benton County with kidnapping, burglary and theft, the Tri-City Herald reported.

Martin is the great-grandson of the 86-year-old woman taken from her Kennewick home Nov. 2. He reportedly enlisted the help of a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy to kidnap her. Police say the boy threw dirt in her face, put an apron on her head and tied her hands before putting her in the trunk. She reportedly escaped when the teens stopped at Walmart.

The 15-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl have been charged with the same crimes in juvenile court. Prosecutors are still considering whether to charge them as adults.

All the charges carry aggravating circumstances alleging the victim was vulnerable and the crimes were deliberately cruel. That allows prosecutors to ask for harsher sentences if the teens are convicted.

The boys told investigators that they considered releasing the woman three miles into a canyon or knocking her unconscious, killing her and burning the car to destroy evidence, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The girl told investigators that the teens wanted to run away to Portland and that one boy had an idea to use his great-grandmother’s car.

The great-grandmother was not injured and turned down medical treatment. The Walmart where she escaped gave her clothes and food.

Bail has been set at $250,000 for each teen, all of whom are at a juvenile detention facility in Oregon awaiting a transfer to Washington.