A dispute was apparently the motive for Friday night’s drive-by shooting at a home in the Truman neighborhood, according to court documents.
Two suspects drove a red minivan with a bumper sticker that reads “Jesus loves me.”
Austin T. Meehan, 20, of Woodland, and Yana N. Cook, 22, of Vancouver, each made a first appearance Monday morning in Clark County Superior Court. Bail for each was set at $50,000. They will be arraigned May 12, court records show.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched about 9:45 p.m. to 3314 N.E. 41st St. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing two vehicles speeding away from the neighborhood, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Video surveillance captured a red minivan driving east past the residence and then west. Investigators determined six shots were fired and one struck the residence, which has previously been the target of a drive-by shooting, the affidavit says. No one was injured.
Several of the occupants followed the red van in their own vehicles. Deputies spotted the van near Northeast 52nd Street and St. James Road, and a pursuit ensued. The minivan plowed through a fence and several residences’ yards, according to the sheriff’s office. It crashed, becoming disabled, and the occupants ran.
With the help of the Vancouver Police Department and a helicopter from the Portland Police Air Support Unit, officers found Meehan and Cook, with two other males, near Northeast 39th Street and 42nd Avenue. After interviewing witnesses, investigators determined Meehan and Cook were inside the van at the time of the shooting, according to court documents.
Cook allegedly told investigators he had been with friends near Washington Elementary School and walked to a friend’s house in the area of 39th Street and 42nd Avenue, the affidavit says.
Meehan claimed his girlfriend dropped him off at a house party in the area. He said he was hanging out with two friends and walked with them to a store, where they met Cook. He denied any involvement in the shooting, court records state.
However, the suspects’ friends said Meehan and Cook had left together to handle “personal business.” Meehan contacted them after the shooting, and they met up before police found them, according to the affidavit.
One of the friends said he heard gunfire and that Cook smelled like gunpowder. He also told investigators that Meehan said they had “heated up the neighborhood” after getting into an argument and someone started shooting, court documents say.
The host of the party confirmed the suspects showed up and left in the red van. The host also received a text from Cook’s girlfriend stating that he admitted to shooting at a house and running from police, the affidavit states.
