Homicide suspects held on $1M bail in Yakima County jail

YAKIMA — Two men have been booked into the Yakima County jail in connection with a robbery last month that left a man dead and a woman injured, authorities said.

Superior Court Judge Richard Bartheld ordered that the men, ages 19 and 20, be held on murder, robbery and assault charges, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported Thursday. Bail was set at $1 million each.

Detectives said the pair went to steal money and drugs from 30-year-old Ronald Leroy Carl Born at his home in Terrace Heights on May 6, an affidavit said. Detectives found $10,000 and 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms) of marijuana in Born’s room.

Born was shot in the stomach, and his mother was hit in the head and arms with a butt of a long gun, authorities said. Born was taken to the hospital where he later died May 17.

The King County Medical Examiner is expected to conduct an autopsy.

“Ain’t nothing going to bring my son back,” said Leroy Born, Born’s father.

Born identified one of the men by name before he died and detectives later identified both men after receiving tips from surveillance photos published in the Herald-Republic, police said.

Defense attorney Beth Wehrkamp requested to allow one of the suspects to be put in his mother’s custody instead of jail, saying the man was traumatized by the loss of a friend, and that his mother would ensure he got a job and showed up for all court hearings.