A Vancouver man is accused of pointing a handgun at the head of another man who supposedly took his hat during an argument early Monday in a parking lot at Everyday Deals grocery store in the city’s Rose Village neighborhood.
The men had just left Selberg’s Tavern and walked across the street to the grocery store parking lot when the confrontation happened, said Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
Joshua R. Richards, 36, allegedly ordered the victim at gunpoint to lie down on the ground in the parking lot.
“I’m going to end you,” Richards said, according to a court affidavit by Vancouver police Officer Robin Griffith.
Richards appeared in Clark County Superior Court on Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree assault and felony harassment death threats.
Judge John Nichols held him in lieu of $15,000 bail. Richards is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Oct. 28. Nichols said Richards doesn’t qualify for a court-appointed attorney and will have to hire his own.
Police responded to a call of a brandishing at 1:28 a.m. in a parking lot at Everyday Deals, 2109 St. Johns Blvd.
“On scene, we saw (Richards) place a Glock handgun down and put his hands in the air,” Griffith wrote. “I saw (the victim) laying prone on the ground near (Richards).”
Griffith said the gun was loaded with 10 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber.
Witnesses said Richards pointed the gun about an inch away from the head of the victim, Ryan Lee, 27, according to the affidavit.
Richards said that Lee had been arguing with him and took his hat. He said he pushed Lee to the ground and drew his handgun from his pocket, Griffith wrote.
“(He) told us he did not point the handgun at the victim but just pointed it at the ground,” she wrote.
He has no other felony history in the state, according to court records.
