Raul Flores, 44, appeared in Clark County Superior Court on Friday morning after being arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder for his alleged involvement in a June 9 shooting on state Highway 503.
Flores did not speak beyond answering Judge Gregory Gonzales’ routine questions during the first appearance hearing.
The judge set bail at $750,000, agreeing with Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kristine Foerster that there was concern for community safety based on the allegations.
Washington State Patrol troopers were dispatched to a fatal crash about 1:45 a.m. the night of the shooting.
A witness told troopers a Toyota Corolla driven by 29-year-old Ariel Romano appeared to be street racing another car on the highway when it lost control, left the road, drove across Prairie High School’s entrance and struck a tree.
Romano’s death was initially reported as a fatal hit-and-run crash, but troopers clarified on June 12 that he had likely died from a gunshot wound.
According to a probable cause affidavit, surveillance video obtained from the high school and other nearby sources showed Romano’s car was being chased by another vehicle and was not racing.
“As the vehicles traveled southbound (on the highway), Romano was shot in the left side of his head from close range with a shotgun,” the affidavit says.
The documents are unclear about Flores’ alleged role in the shooting. No other suspects have been charged in the shooting. According to court documents, one of the people involved in the case said Flores drove the car while another person identified him as the shooter.
A woman told troopers that Flores appeared upset in the days after the shooting, and he planned to leave the area and stay with a relative in Pasco. She said Flores told her “he observed Romano get shot … as he was driving,” the affidavit says.
During the shooting Flores was in his Lincoln LS sedan, in which he had been living. Afterward, he stopped near a church close to the intersection of Northeast 94th Avenue and Padden Parkway to cool down its engine, according to the affidavit.
Troopers also learned the alleged murder weapon was likely in another car parked in Portland off Northeast Sandy Boulevard, near a hotel. Flores was said to hang around a Shell gas station up the street from the hotel, so detectives decided to go there and obtain security footage.
While two deputies were inside the gas station, Flores entered the store and then left in a Lincoln LS, according to the affidavit. The officers called the Portland Police Bureau to stop Flores, as he had a suspended driver’s license.
Portland police detained Flores and a female passenger.
Using the surveillance footage, text messages and witness statements, troopers believe they figured out the motive for the deadly shooting: It is “highly likely” Romano met with Flores and a second man to buy or sell drugs, but there was some kind of incident among them that resulted in Romano fleeing in his car and the subsequent shooting.
