Gunman in 2012 murder gets 19 years

The gunman in a fatal shooting of a Hazel Dell man in 2012 has been sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Kirk Hernandez Sr., 45, pleaded guilty Thursday in Clark County Superior Court to second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with the death of 43-year-old Matthew Michael Clark on Oct. 1, 2012. Clark was reportedly killed because of a dispute over some stolen firearms, according to court records.

An accomplice, Darrell “Chris” Fry, 35, entered a Newton plea in November 2014 to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison. Fry drove Hernandez to Clark’s home on the day of the shooting.

Hernandez had previously stolen five firearms and a police badge from the home of a retired sheriff’s deputy who lives in the Battle Ground area, according to court records. He later took the stolen firearms from that burglary to Clark’s house, he said, and claimed that Clark kept the weapons instead of selling them for Hernandez.

On the day of the shooting, Hernandez went to Clark’s home at 9610 N.E. 25th Ave. at about 6 a.m. to settle the debt. He attacked Clark, knocking him to the ground. Hernandez claimed his revolver slipped out of his pocket during a struggle with Clark and discharged two or three times, court records said.

An autopsy showed Clark suffered two gunshot wounds and had lacerations all over his body, according to court documents.

Hernandez was sentenced Thursday to 228 months on the murder charge and 48 months on the burglary charge, to run concurrently. His sentence also will run concurrently with some District Court cases, court records show.