Police arrest man for suspected attempted murder

Police arrested a man Tuesday who they say is a known gang member and is suspected of attempting murder at a downtown Vancouver motel on Jan. 26.

Angelino Pena, 30, of Vancouver was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon at a Rose Village house for suspected second-degree attempted murder.

On Jan. 26, Vancouver police responded at 1:43 p.m. to the 40-room Econo Lodge Motel, 601 Broadway, where a man reportedly had a gunshot wound in his head.

Investigators found the room’s paid occupant, Elena Espinoza, 24, called 911 after returning to her room that afternoon, according to a Vancouver Police Department news release. She reported the man who was bleeding had been shot in the bathroom, according to emergency radio monitored by The Columbian.

The man was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and is expected to recover. His name was not released.

The Southwest Washington Safe Street Gang Task Force — officers of the Vancouver Police Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Department of Corrections and the FBI — took on the investigation.

The Task Force found probable cause to arrest Pena. He is a known gang associate with extensive criminal history, the release said. He was convicted in 2011 for unlawful possession of a firearm, and released from prison in October 2012.

The SWAT team executed a search warrant Tuesday at 3115 Bridge St. Pena was taken and later booked into the Clark County Jail. Weapons were found in the home, but it’s unknown whether they were used in the January assault, the release said.

Espinoza, also described as a known gang associate, was booked March 8 on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance. She was involved in the January incident, the news release said.

Patty Hastings: 360-735-4513; twitter.com/col_cops; patty.hastings@columbian.com.