Kennewick man’s body was dumped in trash can into Columbia River over $800 debt, say police

Investigators believe a Kennewick man missing for more than a year was killed over an $800 drug debt. Now three people are charged in connection with his murder.

Jason Bennett, 41, of College Place, and Javier James Santana Jr., 48, Grandview, made preliminary appearances Friday in Franklin County Superior Court after being jailed Thursday night. Both are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Anibal Arreola.

A third suspect, Kimberly Salas, 47, is in custody in Montana on an unrelated charge. A murder warrant was also issued for her.

On Thursday, Santana was arrested at a home on the 1200 block of N. Morain Loop in Kennewick, and Bennett was arrested during a traffic stop in Richland, according to a police social media post.

Arreola, 39, went missing under suspicious circumstances last year.

At the time, Kennewick police asked anyone with information to come forward to help find him. He had been missing since March, according to his family.

His 1988 white Honda Civic was also missing.

Investigators now believe he was shot at a home in Pasco and his body was dumped into the Columbia River in a sealed garbage can.

Dive teams and investigators have been unable to locate Arreola’s remains, said coroner officials.

Kennewick and Pasco police are working together on the investigation.

They are asking anyone with information that could help in the search to come forward by calling Kennewick police at 509-628-0333 or submitting a tip anonymously at 509-628-0333.

On Friday, Judge Jacqueline Stam ordered Santana and Bennett held in lieu of $1 million bail. She ordered them not to have contact with each other, Salas or a potential fourth co-defendant Vintley Darjon Harper, 38.

Investigators believe Arreola was killed at Harper’s home while he was at work and he later helped get rid of the body, according to court documents. It’s unclear if Harper has been charged with a crime.

Murder investigation

Police began investigating when a family member filed a missing persons report in April 2024, telling detectives they had heard Arreola had been tied up, shot, placed in the trunk of his vehicle and dumped in the river.

Other relatives said that not hearing from Arreola in over a month was very unusual. His ex-girlfriend also had not seen him since March 12 and had heard similar rumors that he’d been killed.

His vehicle was last seen parked at Harper’s Pasco home.

Cell phone data showed that prior to his disappearance Arreola was in frequent contact with the four suspects.

All activity on his phone and social media accounts ended on March 12 and none of the suspects attempted to contact him after that, according to court records.

A friend of Arreola’s told investigators she had last seen him on the day he disappeared. She said he received a phone call and could hear a woman — later identified as Salas — “telling him off.”

Arreola allegedly told her he would “be right over” and left the friend’s home, saying he would be back later. That was the last time the friend heard from him.

With the help of the FBI, investigators were able to confirm the friend’s claims and use cell phone data to corroborate her story and track the movements of the other suspects.

The data showed he went to Harper’s home on the 1700 block of Brown Street. The home was owned by Harper’s grandmother who was in an assisted living facility. Salas was his roommate at the time.

Alleged drug dealers

Investigators say Salas and Arreola were low level drug dealers who worked for the same person. Salas allegedly sent an associate a photo on June 26 of a dead body believed to be Arreola.

She also allegedly had someone she sold drugs to come to the home and showed them the body, saying, “This is how I get shit done.” The woman allegedly owed Salas money.

The witness told investigators the body of a large bald man was face down in the shower and the water was running. The man had several gunshot wounds to the upper body, but the witness could not confirm his identity.

The witness said Santana and Bennett arrived when she was at the house with Salas, and overheard them discussing “cleaning up the body.”

Detectives interviewed Harper about Arreola’s disappearance on May 16. He admitted to knowing and buying drugs from Arreola, but initially said he didn’t know anything about his whereabouts.

Detectives found a conversation on social media between Harper and a woman. He allegedly told her that he got sober after “... someone got shot inside my grandma house when i got home from work to find it.”

Harper later allegedly told investigators that when he got home, he found Arreola dead in his bathroom shower. Santana told him he had “come out of the corner and shot (Arreola) six times,” while he was sitting on a stool in the dining room and that Salas then stabbed Arreola as he was on the floor.

Harper said Salas allegedly took photos of Arreola’s body as confirmation for her dealer over the $800 he allegedly owed the man.

The Herald is not naming the alleged dealer because court records show he has not been charged with crime.

Harper said they put Arreola’s body into a garbage can and loaded it into the back of his truck on March 13. Harper ordered a new garbage can from Basin Disposal on March 26, according to court documents.

They allegedly drove out to the area near the Vernita Bridge and dumped the body, in the garbage can which had been taped up, into the Columbia River just upstream of the bridge on the Grant County side.

Harper later took detectives to the area, but investigators and dive teams were unable to find the body.

He told detectives that Bennett later cut a hole in the wall of the dining room to extract the bullets.

When investigators searched the home they found blood had seeped into the subfloor and left a stain. DNA testing confirmed it belonged to Arreola. They also found a bullet hole in the wood trim near where Bennett had removed drywall.

Search for a body

Cell phone data showed Salas, Santana and Bennett were at the home when Arreola arrived on March 12, according to court documents.

Harper’s cell phone placed him at work in Burbank until 11 p.m.

Around 4:45 p.m. the phones belonging to Arreola, Santana, and Bennett moved from the home on Brown Street to the Knights Inn in Pasco, showed court documents.

Bennett’s phone disconnected from service after they arrived at the hotel. Just before 5:30 p.m., Arreola’s phone left the Knights Inn and moved northeast of Pasco toward the area of Levey Landing Park along the Snake River east of Pasco-Kahlotus Road.

The last time Arreola’s phone registered was at the park around 8 p.m.

Bennett’s phone reconnected at 7:20 p.m. moving the opposite direction, traveling southwest on Pasco-Kahlotus Road toward Pasco.

Santana and Bennett’s phones place them back at Harper’s house around the time Harper arrived home from work.

Cell phone data showed Salas, Bennett, Santana and Harper at the home until about 1 a.m.

They returned the next day and Harper’s phone stopped transmitting a location. He told investigators he broke it and took the phone in for repairs, which they were able to confirm.

Santana and Bennett’s location shows they traveled up Highway 240 to the area near the Vernita Bridge at around 10 p.m., where Santana made a phone call to Salas. They left the area about three hours later.

Salas moved out of the home a few days after Arreola went missing and Harper’s uncle evicted him on March 30, according to court documents.

Police also received several tips from someone detailing Arreola’s car being “cut up” and claiming “JJ and Jay Bennett” referring to Santana and Bennett.

Investigators were able to track down the person Bennett and Santana allegedly paid $300 to cut up the car, finding parts that matched the vehicle.

The man was allegedly told to “chop and scrap” the vehicle and to “get rid of it.”