A Vancouver teen suspected of drunkenly assailing a pair of mushroom hunters near Round Lake was arrested Tuesday, after also allegedly brandishing a handgun and claiming he was some kind of bounty hunter.
Maxim Alex Kozarez, 16, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree robbery, first-degree criminal impersonation and impaired driving.
According to a police report filed with the court records, Racheal Meyer and Robert Horne pulled over on Lower River Road, north of Frenchman’s Bar Park, around 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Someone pulled over behind them, got out of his car then identified himself as a “federal marshal bounty hunter,” according to court records. The driver, later identified as Kozarez, then asked the two for their names.
As they spoke, the suspect pulled out what looked like a handgun, according to court records. He also said he was looking for a wanted man named John Miller. When Horne questioned Kozarez about his authority to question the two, Kozarez said he was joking, and that he was drunk, court records say.
Kozarez then followed the two for several hours as they picked mushrooms, and at one point asked about their belongings. Around 9 a.m., Meyer put her purse in her backpack, then put on her pack. Kozarez then accused her of stealing from him, and demanded she let him hold onto the pack.
When she refused, Kozarez grabbed her by the bag and forced her to the ground. Horne heard her yelling, and when he approached, Kozarez clenched his fists and threatened to punch Horne in the face, according to court records.
Meyer and Horne headed to their car and locked the doors. Kozarez kicked the door as they tried to get away.
The two told police Kozarez was drinking Corona beer, and an officer who went to the scene later found two bottles.
Officers found Kozarez that afternoon near Frenchman’s Bar. He refused to identify himself, according to court records, and resisted when arrested.
The officers said they found more beer bottles in his car, as well as a pellet gun. He smelled strongly of alcohol, and seemed drunk, police said. The two mushroom pickers identified Kozarez as the suspect.
Correction: Previously, this post was mistakenly updated with an incorrect age for Kozarez. He is 16.
