A Wyoming man who allegedly opened fire inside the Hazel Dell Wal-Mart on Wednesday morning told authorities that he had taken “speed” a couple days prior and planned to kill himself but changed his mind, court documents show.
Shaun Michael Sprague, 35, of Sheridan, Wyo., appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree assault stemming from the shooting and first-degree arson in an unrelated residential fire in Hazel Dell on Tuesday.
Sprague wore a suicide-prevention smock — given to prisoners who may try to harm themselves with standard jail clothing — and appeared to be a bit dazed during the proceeding. Judge Gregory Gonzales asked Sprague several times if he understood his rights and repeated them one at a time.
Sprague told jail officials that he suffers from mental health problems, according to court documents. His court-appointed attorney, Gerry Wear, said he may raise competency issues at a later date.
Deputy Prosecutor Randy St. Clair asked Gonzales to find probable cause for second-degree assault in the shooting, rather than the three counts of first-degree assault referred by law enforcement. Gonzales found probable cause exists in both cases.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies detained Sprague just before 7 a.m. inside the Wal-Mart at 9000 N.E. Highway 99 after a 911 caller reported an active shooter at the store, according to the sheriff’s office. No one was shot or injured during the incident.
Sprague had a revolver pistol on him and reportedly fired shots near the Subway restaurant inside the store near the front entrance, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
The store had been open for about an hour when the shooting occurred. Employees and shoppers either evacuated or sheltered in place, sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Fred Neiman said. Officers searched the store for potential victims and accomplices, but none were located.
Assault case
Jake Bodle, a Subway manager, told The Columbian on Wednesday that he spoke with Sprague earlier in the morning.
He said he was outside smoking when Sprague approached him and asked for a cigarette. Bodle declined.
Sprague then came into the store and told Bodle he wanted a sandwich. Bodle said the restaurant wasn’t open yet but that he’d make him a sandwich once he was done preparing for the day, the affidavit states.
Bodle told detectives that he was in and out of the back room setting up the restaurant, and when he walked back to the front counter, he saw Sprague point a gun toward merchandise in the store. Sprague fired six shots and then placed the revolver on a nearby table, according to court documents. Bodle fled to the back area and saw Sprague fire two more shots in the same direction, before placing the gun on the table again, court records said.
A manager at Wal-Mart called 911, and deputies arrived within five to 10 minutes and detained Sprague.
During an interview with police, Sprague said he’s owned the revolver for about five years, according to the affidavit. He went into the Wal-Mart because he was cold and wet, he said, and planned to kill himself but changed his mind, court documents said.
While at the Clark County Jail, he told officers that he had used “speed” — a term for amphetamines — a couple days before the shooting and said, “none of this would have happened before I used that (expletive),” court records show.
Arson case
In the arson case, Sprague allegedly set a kitchen fire Tuesday at the home he was staying at in the 3000 block of Northeast 75th Street. He dipped a pair of fuzzy dice in gasoline, lit them on fire and placed them inside a kitchen cabinet, a separate probable cause affidavit states.
A roommate, Artem Popov, told officers that he went to bed at about 11 p.m. the night before and awoke to the sound of the smoke detector and smell of smoke. He went downstairs and found a fire in a kitchen cabinet and extinguished it, court records said.
He then smelled rotten eggs and found that the gas line had been disconnected to the water heater in the garage. Sprague was the only other person at the house when Popov went to bed, he said, and there were no signs of forced entry, according to court documents.
During his court appearance, St. Clair said it appears that Sprague is a transient and has some criminal history in Wyoming, mostly convictions for driving while under the influence and criminal trespassing.
Gonzales set his bail at $80,000 between the two cases. Sprague will be arraigned Oct. 20.
