A 16-year-old Kent boy pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges after he reportedly drove a stolen vehicle 103 mph when he crashed July 13 into another vehicle and killed the driver.
Atreyu Renard Batts entered his plea Monday, Aug. 12 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He is in custody at the Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle with bail set at $500,000. His next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5.
Prosecutors charged Batts with second-degree murder, vehicular homicide, felony hit-and-run, two counts of vehicular assault, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle. He is being charged as an adult, which is allowed under state law when a juvenile ages 16 or 17 commits a felony.
Batts allegedly fled in an 2015 Hyundai Saonta from Kent Police and then hit and killed Alizar A. Kachiyev, 41, of Auburn, the driver of the struck vehicle, according to charging papers filed July 30 by King County prosecutors.
Prosecutors explained in court documents that the alleged murder charge stems from the death of someone while committing the crime of attempting to elude a police vehicle. The alleged vehicular homicide charge is for the death of Kachiyev.The hit-and-run is for reportedly fleeing on foot from the vehicle after the crash. The two counts of vehicular assault are for injuries to two passengers in the stolen vehicle, ages 15 and 14.
After Kent Police reportedly identified Batts as the driver, detectives discovered him in King County Juvenile Detention for reportedly stealing a vehicle just six days later with seven other juveniles in the car, according to charging documents.
The owner of the stolen Sonata called 911 at about 11:55 p.m. July 12 to report she had located her stolen vehicle in the area of 23000 100th Avenue SE, according to charging papers. Officers located the vehicle at about 12:05 a.m. July 13 and began to pursue it when the driver sped up after emergency lights were activated.
In the 26000 block of 104th Avenue SE, a driver attempted to make a left turn onto northbound 104th Avenue SE from a driveway on the west side, according to charging documents. The stolen vehicle collided with the left rear of that vehicle, tearing the back of the car off at about 12:08 a.m. That driver, Kachiyev, later died of his injuries.
A download of the vehicle’s Airbag Control Module showed that it was traveling 99 mph at 99% throttle pedal 5 seconds prior to impact, and 103 mph at impact, according to charging papers. The vehicle’s ignition was completely torn apart, allowing the vehicle to be started without a key.
Eight days after the fatal crash, the parents of Batts called 911 to report that they believed their son had been involved in the incident, according to charging documents.
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