People at the home where a man fought with a Clark County deputy before being shot by the officer Wednesday said he had been kicked out of the home for drug use.
Resident Kitty Mapes said she believes the man’s life did not improve after being told to leave, and he likely came back because he holds a grudge, because he associates the home with losing control.
“He got kicked out for using drugs and just went downhill from there,” Kitty Mapes said on Thursday, standing in the doorway of the rambler.
She stood not far from the gravel driveway where a deputy shot the former tenant.
Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Brent Waddell told KATU the man involved in the deputy-involved shooting is James Michael Kelly. A resident at the home where the shooting happened also identified Kelly.
Relative attacked
A relative was home when Kelly pulled up in a car. Phil, who asked The Columbian to not use his last name, said he went outside to confront the man. Phil said he had never met or seen the visitor before.
“He retaliated when I told him to leave,” Phil said, adding that Kelly was holding a beer in his hand and appeared to be mentally unsound.
“I was just the person that happened to walk outside and he attacked,” he said.
A home surveillance video posted to YouTube shows a man attack Phil in front of the garage. The two men fall to the ground with the assailant on top and striking Phil several times with his fist.
Phil stands up and walks back into the home with a bloody face, the video shows. On Thursday, Phil had bruises on his face, including a black eye, and scrapes around his neck. Despite the violent encounter, Phil maintained a positive attitude.
“I wore him out with my face,” the assault victim said.
Once Phil was inside, he called 911.
Home surveillance video released to Portland TV stations captured the subsequent fight between a Clark County deputy and Kelly, who stayed on the property after assaulting Phil.
He threw items at the home before relaxing on the hood of his car.
Threats and retaliation
Rusty Mapes said in a phone interview Kelly threatened his family numerous times over the past year and a half.
Kelly was kicked out of the home in December 2016. He was using drugs heavily, Rusty Mapes said, which were affecting his mood and thinking.
About a month after Rusty Mapes and his family told Kelly to leave, Kelly allegedly threatened them.
“He was going to do something about (getting kicked out). Stuff like that,” Rusty Mapes said.
That’s when Rusty Mapes said the security system, the same one that recorded Wednesday’s fights and the deputy-involved shooting, was installed.
Kelly returned to the house repeatedly, Rusty Mapes said.
“He was trying to get me or my father, but we just had to be careful and not give him the chance,” he said, adding that he hadn’t seen the troubled former roommate for about a year until this week’s incident.
A scuffle, a shooting
The deputy was dispatched shortly before 2 p.m. to the rural home at 11518 N.E. 126th Ave. in Brush Prairie.
Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Fred Neiman said deputies were summoned to the home after a man was seen jumping on vehicles parked near the home and acting strangely.
The video shows the deputy approach a man lying on the hood of a car. The man turns left to look at the law enforcement officer, slides off the car and then grabs and strikes him.
A struggle ensues and both men go to the ground. The suspect puts the deputy in a headlock before being flipped on his back. The deputy gains his footing and appears to draw his gun and fire.
The sheriff’s office has not released the name of the deputy, who received minor injuries and was placed on critical-incident leave, which is standard procedure, according to the sheriff’s office.
Dave Lasitter, who lives behind the home where the shooting occurred, said he hasn’t had many problems with the neighbors. He said the home used to be noisy, with people coming and going late at night, several years ago, but other tenants may have been living there.
Lasitter was home when the deputy shot the man, but he said he didn’t hear the shooting or anything leading up to it. Officers came to his door asking to search the property, but they didn’t tell him what happened, he said.
He learned about the shooting on the news.
“I was a bit scared up until then, because I thought someone may be on the run,” Lasitter said.
Other neighbors described the residents of the home as good people.
