Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik filed additional charges Tuesday against an apparent white supremacist accused of shooting Vancouver motorcycle patrol Officer Dustin Goudschaal several times during a traffic stop. Goudschaal, 32, survived multiple gunshot wounds. He was released from the hospital July 2 and is recovering at home.
James Todd Sapp, 47, of Vancouver was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court on attempted murder and other charges. Instead, his court-appointed attorney, Matthew Hoff, requested that the arraignment be postponed in order to have time to review the new charges with his client. The hearing was rescheduled for July 15.
Hoff initially also planned to argue for a reduction in Sapp’s $10 million bail Tuesday but decided to delay that matter until July 15, as well.
“I think the evidence is very strong to support the $10 million bail,” Golik said. “Judge (Scott) Collier set that bail, and there are more charges now.”
Sapp already was charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Golik added charges Tuesday of first-degree attempted robbery involving another victim, second-degree assault, methamphetamine possession and heroin possession. He said the additional charges are based on new information investigators have uncovered since Sapp’s first court appearance last week.
Goudschaal was shot about 11:30 a.m. June 30 when he stopped a black Dodge Ram truck near Northeast 34th Street and 162nd Avenue in east Vancouver. A dispatcher told the officer that the truck’s license plates belonged to a stolen vehicle. After Goudschaal didn’t respond to a dispatcher, passing motorist James Bridger Jr. came on the radio and said the officer had been shot.
Another motorist, Earlene “Sam” Anderson, also stopped, rendering first aid by wrapping her scarf around a gunshot wound to Goudschaal’s neck, according to court records. Goudschaal’s ballistic vest apparently saved his life, and he was able to identify Sapp as his assailant, court records say.
Meanwhile, Sapp allegedly sped away in the Ram with passenger Timothy Plantenberg in tow. Plantenberg hasn’t been charged in the case. He said he grabbed the steering wheel to try to make Sapp crash, so he could get out of the vehicle, court records show. When he left the vehicle, he said Sapp shot at him.
A court affidavit filed Tuesday identified the victim of an attempted carjacking that happened the same day, as Sapp was fleeing from the scene of the shooting.
Sapp attempted to take Tricia Belden’s car as she and her neighbor, David Green, were following him after finding him climbing over Green’s fence, according to court records. Green was following Sapp on foot. When Belden stopped her car to pick up Green, Sapp approached the vehicle, punched Belden twice in the side of the face and attempted to take her car, court records say. Green and another neighbor pulled him away from the car.
He then stole a gold Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck from an 88-year-old bystander, Donald Lowry, court records say. Lowry told officers that he walks with a cane and carries his keys in his mouth as he walks. Sapp allegedly pushed him and grabbed the keys. Bystander Adam Sikes attempted to stop Sapp by striking him with a small folding shovel, court records show. Sapp started the truck, accelerated rapidly in reverse and struck Sikes with an open driver’s side door, court records say. Sikes fell backwards over a small utility box and sustained injuries to his right foot and lower leg, where the door hit him.
Sapp later crashed Lowry’s pickup just before he was taken into custody, according to court records. Police found him hiding behind metal dumpsters belonging to MetFab Heating, 13914 N.E. 28th St. Officers found methamphetamine in his pocket and a nylon bag containing marijuana and heroin among some of his other belongings, court records show.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office has previously identified Sapp as an admitted member of the Aryan Brotherhood. He goes by the nickname “Cotton,” according to court records.
Sapp already has a violent criminal history and several felony convictions, the oldest of which dates back to 1988 in Oldham County, Ky., according to court records.
Sapp’s wife, Leah Sapp, wrote in the comments section on The Columbian’s website that her husband is “not a monster.”
“He is a loving, giving, sweet gentleman,” she wrote.
She said Sapp’s family and friends are hurt over the situation.
“We would also like to send our apologies and best wishes to Officer (Goudschaal) and his family,” she wrote.
