A Portland man has been charged with attempted murder in connection with an alleged botched robbery at a Vancouver marijuana grow three years ago.
Tyson R. Beavers, 35, appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree burglary and one count of second-degree assault stemming from the August 2013 incident at a residential grow.
Judge Gregory Gonzales appointed Beavers an attorney and ordered that he be held in lieu of $200,000 bail. He will be arraigned Aug. 17.
Court records indicate that there may be two other assailants involved. However, no other arrests have been made, Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said.
No charges were referred for the marijuana grow, Smith said.
At about 10:40 p.m. Aug. 2, 2013, authorities were notified of a home-invasion robbery at a residential marijuana grow at 420 N.W. 76th St. Two victims reported having substantial injuries and said one of their assailants may have had his finger severed during the altercation, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
The property included a main residence occupied by three people, including one of the victims, Steve Holsing. Two others, James Anderson and Will Romero, lived in a separate travel trailer parked in the backyard of the property. They had been hired to build structures for growing marijuana crops and to tend plants, the affidavit states.
Holsing said that when he took his dogs outside that night, three people broke into the house. He found himself lying on the floor with a man holding a gun to his groin. The assailant said he was going to shoot Holsing, and all of the men were yelling, “Get down!” and “Where’s the money?,” according to court documents. Holsing said he didn’t recognize any of the men.
Anderson and Romero told detectives they were relaxing in their travel trailer when two unknown men banged on a window of the trailer, causing it to crack. When Romero opened the door, one of the men grabbed him and the other threw something that grazed his forehead, the affidavit states.
Romero was pushed backward and fell into the trailer. The first assailant trampled over him and attacked Anderson. The other assailant attacked Romero in the entryway of the trailer. Anderson said one of the assailants shoved a gun into Romero’s mouth, and both were yelling, “stab him!” and “shoot him!” But the gun failed to fire, court records said.
A struggle ensued between all four men. Romero said he saw Anderson fighting with someone over the gun and went to help. Anderson said he was pistol-whipped at some point, and he bit the finger of one of the assailants, possibly severing it, according to court documents.
Anderson eventually got control of the gun, and the assailants fled, court records said.
Authorities recovered the .45 caliber pistol at the scene. There were blood stains on the gun, and it later came back as stolen out of Gresham, Ore., according to court records.
Several swabs taken from blood stains inside the trailer were sent to the Washington State Patrol crime lab. In May 2014, DNA results came back, a detective said, and were a match to Tyson Beavers, the affidavit states.
