Suspect in fatal shooting at Kelso convenience store arrested after car chase
Gunfire exchanged during chase; Vancouver police officer suffers minor injuries
By Jack Heffernan, Columbian
county government and small cities reporter
Published: February 5, 2019, 8:53pm
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Both directions of Interstate 84 were closed between Interstates 205 and 5 in Portland. Police are investigating a car chase that crossed state lines from Vancouver, erupted into gunfire and ended with the arrest of another suspect in the homicide of Kelso convenience store clerk Kayla Chapman, 30. (Jack Heffernan/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
A lengthy car chase Tuesday night erupted into gunfire on Interstates 205 and 84 in Portland, and ended with the arrest of another suspect in the fatal shooting of a Kelso convenience store clerk.
Erkinson K. Bossy, 23, was arrested shortly before 8 p.m., according to the Kelso Police Department, following a car chase from state Highway 500 near Thurston Way in Vancouver to westbound I-84 near the Lloyd Center in Portland.
Vancouver police pursuing the fleeing pickup exchanged gunfire with at least one suspect, according to a Portland Police Bureau news release, and an officer was being treated for minor injuries at an area hospital. The Vancouver officer may have suffered glass to the face, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.
One of the suspects in the pickup suffered life-threatening injuries unrelated to the gunfire, Portland police said.
No one in the area reported injuries or damage to their vehicles, police said.
After starting eastbound on Highway 500 near Thurston Way, the suspect pickup entered southbound I-205 and drove over the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge into Portland before turning onto westbound I-84, according to emergency radio traffic monitored by The Columbian.
Police performed a Pursuit Intervention Technique, or PIT, maneuver on westbound I-84 between 33rd and 12th avenues, according to Portland police.
Two people, including Bossy, were taken into custody a few minutes later.
Around 3 p.m., Vancouver police also arrested Nenemeny W. Ekiek, 21, who was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Investigators say Bossy and Ekiek were with D’Anthony Leslie Williams, 19, when he allegedly fatally shot 30-year-old Kayla Chapman, a clerk at the Kelso Quik Chek Market, on Jan. 22. Chapman was the only person in the store at the time. Williams was arrested in Camas the next day.
A white four-door sedan driven by Bossy arrived at the store before Chapman was shot. Ekiek was a passenger in the vehicle, according to a Kelso police press release.
Both directions of I-84 are closed from I-205 to the Cesar Chavez Boulevard exit as police continue to investigate, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. The highway was expected to be closed for hours.
The Portland Police Bureau is collaborating with the Vancouver Police Department on this incident but is taking the lead on the officer-involved shooting investigation.
“This is a complex investigation involving multiple agencies,” Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw said in a press release. “We will be working with our local agency partners to ensure the completion of a thorough and timely investigation.”
If anyone witnessed or has information about this incident, they should call Detective Anthony Merrill at 503-823-4033 or Detective Scott Broughton at 503-823-3774.
Assistant Metro Editor Jessica Prokop contributed to this report.
