The second suspect convicted for his involvement in kidnapping and robbing a juvenile at gunpoint in December was sentenced Wednesday to eight years and five months in prison.
Elijah S. Molina, 21, of Chehalis, entered In Re Barr pleas on Wednesday, April 23, to one count of second-degree robbery, one count of second-degree malicious mischief and two counts of third-degree assault.
An In Re Barr plea allows a defendant to plead guilty to a lesser charge in order to take advantage of a plea deal. Unlike an Alford plea, an In Re Barr plea does not necessarily stipulate that the defendant is innocent.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager sentenced Molina on Wednesday, April 23, to 29 months in prison for the charges, plus a 36 month firearm enhancement.
Molina was also sentenced Wednesday for an unrelated possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver charge stemming from a June 2024 case. In that case, the parents of a friend Molina was staying with reportedly found a bag containing a 9mm firearm, multiple baggies of meth and two digital scales in Molina’s possession, according to court documents.
For that case, Yeager sentenced Molina to 20 months in prison, plus a 36 month firearm enhancement.
Yeager ordered the base prison sentences for both cases to run concurrently, but ordered the two firearm enhancements to run consecutively, for a combined total of 101 months.
Molina was arrested Jan. 27 for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and robbery, which was reported at 5:47 p.m. on Dec. 4, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Molina and his two co-defendants, Cornelius Wayman Jr., 21, and Daniel L. Flores, 18, both of Centralia, allegedly met up with four juveniles who agreed to sell them a vape pen at Fort Borst Park sometime before 5:47 p.m. on Dec. 4.
One of the juveniles reportedly got into the front passenger’s seat of the suspects’ vehicle to sell them the vape pen, at which point one of two reported passengers in the backseat, who have since been identified as Flores and Molina, allegedly “pulled out a gun and pressed it to the back of (the juvenile’s) head,” according to charging documents.
Flores allegedly told detectives that Wayman told Molina to “put the gun to (the juvenile’s) neck,” according to court documents.
While Molina allegedly had a gun to the victim’s head, Wayman “sped off with the victim in the vehicle,” according to charging documents and a Centralia Police Department news release.
The victim reported that he threw the vape pen out of the window once the vehicle sped out of the parking spot, which prompted Wayman to stop the vehicle. He grabbed the gun from the backseat passenger, stepped out of the vehicle to retrieve the vape, pointed the gun at the other three juveniles who were with the victim and struck the victim in the face before getting back into the vehicle and driving off.
Molina is the second suspect to be sentenced for involvement in the robbery.
Wayman entered guilty pleas on Jan. 31 to four counts of second-degree assault and one count each of second-degree robbery and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and is required to register as a firearm offender.
Flores, the third and final suspect in the case, pleaded not guilty to first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault charges on Dec. 12. His trial is scheduled to begin May 6.
He posted $50,000 bail on Dec. 17 and was not in custody at the Lewis County Jail as of Friday afternoon.
