A man who served time in connection with a fatal 2012 crash was arrested Monday on suspicion of trespassing in the Walnut Grove neighborhood. Tips from the public led police to him.
Scott R. Rowles, 50, was arrested on suspicion of five counts of second-degree trespassing stemming from two alleged backyard-trespassing incidents, each involving elderly females who live within a mile of Rowles’ home, according to the Vancouver Police Department. During one of the recent incidents, the trespasser was heard moaning outside a resident’s window, police said.
Rowles was involved in a December 2012 vehicle-pedestrian crash that killed Donald L. Collins, 62, of Vancouver near East Mill Plain Boulevard and Andresen Road. Rowles, the driver in the incident, initially faced a charge of vehicular homicide but pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of marijuana. He was sentenced in May to six months in jail.
The case gained national attention because it involved one of the first fatal marijuana-related crashes to go to court since marijuana was legalized in Washington. Toxicology results released in January 2014 showed Rowles’ blood had about 7.2 nanograms per milliliter of THC — the active ingredient in marijuana — at the time of the crash, according to court records. The legal limit for driving is 5.0.
