A shooting earlier this month in which a 17-year-old girl was wounded allegedly started as a home-invasion robbery over marijuana, according to court records.
The parents of Sandrisha Wesley — who suffered a traumatic injury to her lower left leg from a shotgun — say their daughter and her boyfriend were ambushed by a group of men but that they knew one of the alleged assailants: Andrew W. Adams-Mott.
Adams-Mott, 20, of Vancouver appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court. He entered not guilty pleas to first- and second-degree assault, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery in connection with the Dec. 10 shooting at a residence in the 3300 block of F Street, in Vancouver’s Shumway neighborhood.
He was arrested Wednesday by Vancouver police detectives, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
Wesley’s parents, Ronald and Candace Wesley, and her sister attended Adams-Mott’s hearing. They told media afterward that Adams-Mott was not the shooter, but he orchestrated the alleged robbery.
Candace Wesley said her daughter believes there were three other assailants, and she urged them to “be a man” and turn themselves in.
“I’m very angry,” Candace Wesley told a group of reporters. “She had no idea what was coming. They ruined my daughter’s life.”
The teen and her doctors have been fighting to save her leg, Candace Wesley said. Doctors initially believed they would need to amputate, but so far, Sandrisha Wesley has undergone numerous surgeries to save it, her mother said, and she will undergo more.
She said no one knows yet how well her daughter will be able to walk.
The family has set up a YouCaring account to help with medical bills.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Vancouver police were called at about 8:50 p.m. to a report of a disturbance with a weapon. When they arrived, they learned that multiple armed men had arrived to rob the occupants of marijuana.
Sandrisha Wesley’s boyfriend, Leif Eiesland, told police he received a call from a man he knew as “Drew,” later identified by police as Adams-Mott. Eiesland said he’s known “Drew” for about a year and had sold marijuana to him before. He said Adams-Mott mentioned stopping by his house, the affidavit states.
A short time later, Eiesland said Adams-Mott knocked on the front door, but when he opened it, he saw a second man and said he felt something was wrong. He tried to shut the door, but Adams-Mott put his foot in the door, according to court documents.
Multiple armed men then forced their way inside and ordered Eiesland to “get down” and yelled, “Where’s the dope?” court records said. Eiesland complied.
Sandrisha Wesley was in the living room when the men entered the home. Eiesland said he heard a commotion and one gunshot. He then heard Wesley screaming, the affidavit states.
The assailants ran out the front door while Eiesland ran out the back and called 911. He later went back inside and found Wesley had been hurt, he said. She was transported via ambulance to a hospital.
Eiesland told police he believes the men stole a couple of jars of marijuana, according to court documents.
The following day, a citizen spotted a single-shot shotgun in the grass across the street from Eiesland’s residence and notified police, court records state.
Wesley told detectives from the hospital that Adams-Mott was not the shooter. She said the man who shot her forcefully pushed the barrel of his shotgun into her back, using it to knock her to the ground, the affidavit said. He then intentionally shot her, she said.
Adams-Mott has prior convictions out of Oregon for third-degree robbery and third-degree assault, court records show. The prosecution said Thursday that he also has an Oregon conviction for interfering with a police officer.
Judge Robert Lewis set Adams-Mott’s bail at $200,000. His trial is scheduled to start Feb. 26.
