A 15-year-old boy suspected of shooting his stepfather through a bedroom door following an argument Tuesday at an east Vancouver home told police he didn’t intend to shoot the man and didn’t realize the gun’s safety was off, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Timothy E. Burks appeared in Clark County Juvenile Court on Wednesday morning in shackles to hear the allegations against him. His mother was present, as well.
Burks faces allegations of first-degree attempted murder-domestic violence and reckless endangerment, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Judge John Fairgrieve appointed attorney Michael Borge to represent the teen.
Borge argued during the hearing that his client shouldn’t have had to appear in shackles. He said there should have been a formal hearing on the matter first.
Fairgrieve said a hearing couldn’t be held before the teen’s first appearance. He said the decision is left to the court when the court’s security and safety come into question. He based his decision on the fact that Burks is potentially facing a Class A felony, Fairgrieve said.
It is unclear if Burks will be remanded to adult court.
History of arguing
Vancouver police, Clark County sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers were dispatched to a weapons disturbance shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at a house at 3414 N.E. 130th Ave. in the Image neighborhood. The caller reported that a man named “Joe” had been shot by Burks, the affidavit said.
Upon officers’ arrival, medical aid was provided to the gunshot victim, later identified as Richard James Hilts, who goes by the name Joe. Hilts had a gunshot wound to his side, court records said.
Hilts told officers he believed he was going to die. He was subsequently transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and was placed in the ICU on a ventilator, according to court documents. His condition was unavailable Wednesday.
During their investigation, police said they learned Hilts is the stepfather of Burks. The two apparently argue often and generally don’t get along, court records said.
A witness, Kelvin Brown, who also lives at the residence, told police that he and Hilts had arrived home from work and observed the front door wide open. Once inside the home, Hilts talked to Burks and another child about not completing their chores and told them to do so. Burks began to argue with Hilts, and it turned physical, the affidavit said.
Brown said Burks and Hilts began to punch and push each other, until Hilts got the teen into a headlock. Burks pushed both of them into a wall, damaging it, before Brown and the other child broke up the fight, court records said.
Once the two were separated, Hilts took a 2-year-old child into the master bedroom with him and shut the door, Brown said. Burks went into his bedroom and came back out. Brown said Burks tried to push the master bedroom door open while yelling at Hilts to come out. Hilts kept the door shut and locked it, according to court documents.
Brown said he then saw what appeared to be a gun in Burks’ left hand but that it was covered by a sock or a cloth. Burks cocked the gun and shot through the master bedroom door one time, Brown said. He said he then heard Hilts yell that he’d been shot and to call 911, the affidavit said.
Brown said Burks grabbed a backpack from his room, put the gun in it and left the house, according to court documents.
A second witness gave a similar account and told police he had told Burks to stop and tried to reach out to block him from raising the gun, the affidavit said. He was unable to do so in time, he said.
Police set up a containment area and searched the neighborhood for the teen, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian. Police announced they had him in custody about 9 p.m. Burks’ biological father picked up the teen a few blocks from the house and turned him over to police, the affidavit said.
Burks was taken to the Vancouver Police Department’s West Precinct, where he was interviewed by detectives. He initially denied knowing why he was in custody. He then told detectives he would give his side of the story after he heard what the witnesses had said, according to court documents.
He eventually gave a similar account of the fight but said he was afraid Hilts was going into the bedroom to retrieve his gun. He said he decided he was going to get his gun first and went into his bedroom and grabbed the gun from under his pillow. Burks said he intended to point the gun at Hilts to scare him and that he didn’t realize the safety was off, the affidavit said.
The Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit is the lead investigator on this case with assistance from the Safe Streets Task Force, Vancouver Police Department’s gang unit, Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said Wednesday.
Burks has another pending case in juvenile court that appears to stem from a 2014 malicious mischief charge. He apparently had a warrant in that case, court records show.
He is next scheduled to appear in juvenile court Friday for arraignment.
