A 23-year-old Vancouver man, who is linked with a local murder suspect, pleaded guilty Friday to burglarizing a Battle Ground home Sept. 24 and trafficking stolen property.
Samuel A. Scory will be sentenced April 12 by Clark County Superior Court Judge Daniel Stahnke.
Scory; Kirk M. Hernandez Sr., 42, who is also accused of murdering Matthew Clark on Oct. 1; and a third person were allegedly accomplices in the burglary. Guns stolen in the burglary were allegedly the cause of a dispute that prompted Clark’s murder, according to court documents.
They stole numerous firearms, night vision goggles, a sheriff’s badge and other items from the home, the documents state.
Mykel Bru, 25, of Vancouver was acquitted Feb. 14 of being the third accomplice in the burglary after a three-day trial before Judge Scott Collier.
Scory was also accused of burglaries Sept. 19 in Vancouver and Oct. 16 in Camas. The Camas burglary made national news
because a quick-thinking 10-year-old girl, Paityn Mock, was inside the home at the time and called 911 while hiding in a kitchen pantry.
Charges for those crimes were dropped in exchange for Scory’s guilty plea. He would have been put on trial for them, had he and the prosecution not reached a bargain.
Scory pleaded guilty to trafficking a Taurus .357 revolver, a model of gun stolen in the Sept. 19 burglary.
His attorney, George Marlton, said Scory made an “Alford” plea, which means he believes he is not guilty but acknowledges that the prosecution has evidence that could convict him in a trial and is pleading guilty to avoid a higher sentence.
Paris Achen: 360-735-4551; http://twitter.com/Col_Courts; paris.achen@columbian.com.
