Homicides hit 5-year high in Clark County

The number of homicides in Clark County climbed to 16 in 2017, but that five-year high doesn’t necessarily indicate a trend.

The Vancouver Police Department handled 11 of those cases. Suspects have been named or arrested in all of them except one — the Dec. 30 shooting of 23-year-old Vincent Trevino.

In 2016, the county saw 11 homicides; the prior totals for 2012-15 were six, 13, 10 and 11. That’s according to an annual pamphlet prepared by the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with the help of victim advocates. It’s possible some cases have been overlooked. Even so, 2017 was among the worst for homicides in some time.

But the characteristics of the homicides do not point to a trend.

There were gruesome killings involving individuals with alleged mental illness, vehicular deaths that prompted criminal charges and shootings among acquaintances over drugs or other underlying lesser crimes.

“I don’t see any driving force or connection between these homicides,” Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik said.

“There was not a particular thing that seemed to be driving a bunch of these murders. They’re unrelated, don’t have a consistent motive, and nothing specific like gang activity,” Golik said.

Last year’s total increased the workload for the prosecutor’s office’s major crimes team, but Golik said the attorneys have the resources necessary to handle the cases. Their work will continue into this year, he said, as homicide cases that go to trial can take a year or longer to wrap up.

Vancouver Police Department Major Crimes Unit Lieutenant Troy Price said investigators were conscious of the uptick.

A regular customer of the store, Mitchell Heng, 22, is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree arson. Court documents show Heng admitted to police that he went to the market early in the morning to rob Hooser, taking $80 and a carton of cigarettes. He then started the fire using a lighter and coffee filters and fled. Heng’s trial is currently set for April 16.

Victim: Ian P. McKay, 37.

Date: Jan. 22.

Court records show Vancouver police responded shortly after 4 a.m. to a disturbance involving a weapon at TJ Patrick Ferres’ residence in the Hearthwood neighborhood of east Vancouver. When officers arrived, they found a man, later identified as McKay, lying on the floor in the kitchen with a gunshot wound to the side of his body. McKay was pronounced dead at the scene. The probable cause affidavit filed in the case indicates the two friends had been drinking before they argued.

Ferres’ trial is currently set for May 7. Additionally, McKay’s mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ferres, 57.

Victim: Christian Walton, 27.

Date: Jan. 27.

The Vancouver man was walking on the sidewalk with Nicole Bricker in the 11300 block of Southeast 10th Street on Jan. 11 when they were struck by a hit-and-run driver. Family members drove Walton and Bricker to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center later that evening. Both were treated and released. A couple weeks later, Walton died of a pulmonary thromboembolism — in which a blood clot travels to the lungs — caused by blunt leg trauma, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Ernesto Estrada-Tapia, 25, was convicted of vehicular homicide and hit-and-run resulting in death. He was sentenced in June to five years in prison.

Victim: Leisa Holt, 60.

Date: Feb. 17.

A SWAT team discovered Holt’s body following a two-hour standoff with her son, Kenneth Jay Moore, 46, at their shared home in the Maplewood neighborhood in central Vancouver. The standoff began when Moore allegedly pointed a rifle at a Vancouver police officer doing a welfare check on Holt, who had not been seen or heard from in several days. Moore is accused of bludgeoning and trying to dismember Holt.

No trial date has been set. A mental competency review hearing for Moore is scheduled for March 2.

Victim: Joan Walker, 78.

Date: March 6.

Joan Walker was allegedly killed by her 28-year-old grandson Benjamin W. Walker, who told police he strangled her, then cut her throat, because she chastised him for leaving a light on in the house, court records state. Afterward, Benjamin Walker walked to the Washougal Police Department and turned himself in.

During his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court, prosecutors said Benjamin Walker showed no remorse, and the judge set bail at $1 million. His trial is set for May 21.

Victims: Jason D. Benton, 42, and Allen J. Collins, 37.

Date: March 19.

Collins died of gunshot wounds to the head and neck, and Benton died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiner’s office. The two men were found dead by Vancouver police in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 1500 block of Northeast 140th Avenue. A woman who was in the process of moving out of the apartment complex said she knew the victims and the suspect, none of whom lived there, and had heard them arguing before gunfire erupted.

Arkangel D. Howard, 32, of Portland was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. His trial is set for Feb. 20.

Victim: Raymond C. Brandon, 34.

Date: April 28.

Brandon was beaten and shot to death at a residence southeast of Hockinson High School; his body was discovered a week after the slaying, authorities say. A resident of the home stands accused of conspiring with two couples to lure Brandon and his girlfriend there to settle a debt.

The five suspects were identified as Traci Lynn Mendez, 42, who resided at the home; Neil Allen Alway, 40; Ashley Lorraine Barry, 32; John Michael West, 44; and Ashley L. Wideman, 23. Alway, West and Mendez are charged with murder, according to court documents. Wideman’s trial is currently set for Feb. 26, and the rest are scheduled for April 30, court records show.

Victim: Cesar D. Ortiz-Velasco, 16.

Date: May 26.

Ortiz-Velasco was killed after an alleged intended robbery turned deadly. Jaycob Trotter, 17, and Christopher Pierce, 16, were charged with his murder. Authorities say Trotter drove with Pierce to an east Vancouver Safeway parking lot to meet Ortiz-Velasco. The victim allegedly was trying to buy $120 of marijuana, but Pierce snatched the money, and the defendants tried to drive off. Ortiz-Velasco clung to the vehicle for a short time and then was run over. He later died.

Trotter’s case was automatically remanded to Clark County Superior Court due to his age and the nature of the allegations. His trial is set for March 19.

Pierce pleaded guilty Dec. 19 in juvenile court to second-degree murder and was sentenced to confinement in a juvenile institution, possibly until his 21st birthday.

Victims: Thomas West, 42, and James Olsen, 55.

Date: July 16.

West and Olsen were stabbed to death in the courtyard of Central Park Place Apartments, a transitional housing program for people who are low-income, homeless or at risk of being homeless. It is located on the Vancouver Veterans Affairs campus. Both were residents of the apartments. A third victim survived.

Dustin Lee Zapel, 35, was charged in the double homicide. He also lived at the building and allegedly later told police that he had been lying in bed when he got the urge to kill someone. Clark County Superior Court Judge John Fairgrieve granted a competency evaluation for Zapel shortly after the charges were filed. Court records show hearings regarding the evaluation are ongoing.

Victim: Cody O’Brien, 25.

Date: July 26.

O’Brien’s body was found in Vancouver’s Arnold Park on July 26, but authorities said he had been dead for “an extended period of time.” It appeared he had been robbed; his pants pockets had been turned out, police said. The county’s medical examiner determined he died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

William D. Peek, 28, was charged with first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, there are varying accounts of Peek’s whereabouts and what he told witnesses. The court document says Peek told investigators he was with O’Brien in his car and that they had “words” because O’Brien wanted to commit a robbery. His trial is set for July 30.

Victim: Jonna Porteous, 68.

Date: Aug. 1.

Porteous of Vancouver was pronounced dead at the hospital after a four-vehicle collision on state Highway 500 between Vancouver and Camas.

Pamala S. Alexander, 54, of Camas was allegedly driving under the influence of pain medication when she steered her Cadillac SUV across the center line and caused a chain-reaction crash. Alexander was arraigned Jan. 19 on charges of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence and DUI.

Victim: Kelsy French-Holland, 23.

Date: Oct. 11.

French-Holland’s body was discovered at about 3:20 p.m. in a bedroom she rented at a Truman-area house. Her roommate called 911 to report that French-Holland was unresponsive and appeared to be dead, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Investigators later recovered a video from French-Holland’s phone, apparently shot by 22-year-old Brandon J. Sotelo the day before her body was discovered. In it, he’s heard saying that he tried to wake up French-Holland, but she was unresponsive. Court documents show toxicology testing completed in December found that French-Holland died of an accidental drug overdose.

Sotelo appeared in court Jan. 12 on suspicion of controlled substance homicide in the death of French-Holland.

Victim: Vincent Trevino, 23.

Date: Dec. 30.

After neighbors heard gunshots, Trevino was found at 4 a.m. lying dead on a street in the Image neighborhood in east Vancouver. Police have not publicly identified a suspect in the case nor disclosed details about what led up to the apparent shooting.

A reward of up to $2,500 has been offered for tips that lead to an arrest.

Trevino’s older brother told The Columbian that “Vinnie” was working to escape a checkered past and had moved to Washington to be near his two young boys.