UPDATE: This case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be re-filed at a later date, on June 29 in Clark County Superior Court. The prosecution cited the reason for the dismissal as “interest of justice.”
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A Vancouver woman who allegedly beat a mall security officer in the back of the head with his own radio made a first appearance Monday in Clark County Superior Court.
Christina M. Garza, 36, appeared on suspicion of second-degree assault in connection with the Friday incident at Vancouver Mall.
At about 8:10 p.m., Vancouver police were called for a physical disturbance at the mall, 8700 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive. Multiple callers reported a group of people fighting with mall security, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Upon arrival, police contacted Benjamin Gill, a mall security employee, who said that security had separated two groups of people who were fighting on mall property. One group left, but the second group refused to leave, the affidavit states.
One male in the group punched Gill and another security officer several times before they detained him. As they waited for police to arrive, Garza came up behind Gill and struck him repeatedly on the back of the head with his radio. Multiple security officers pulled Garza off of Gill and detained her, court documents say.
Police interviewed Garza — noting her knuckles were bloody — and she reportedly told them that she saw security officers on top of a male and “felt like she had to do something.” She said she recognized that the men on top of the male were security officers and that she hadn’t seen the beginning of the altercation. She later said she knew she had “messed up,” according to court records.
On Monday, Judge John Fairgrieve set Garza’s bail at $5,000. She will be arraigned May 24.
