A 29-year-old Vancouver man appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court after allegedly shooting at a vehicle Jan. 20 in Battle Ground.
Judge David Gregerson set Trevor L. Chase’s bail at $200,000 during a first-appearance hearing. Chase is facing two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm, court records say.
A Battle Ground police officer was dispatched at 10:41 p.m. to the Mid-Town Terrace Apartments for a report of a shooting involving a vehicle. Callers reported someone in a silver Honda Civic was shooting at people and driving recklessly, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The car was not at the apartments when the officer arrived. The victim, Steven Patterson, told the officer an unknown man, for no apparent reason, passed him on the right side of Northwest First Street, and he heard a loud pop that upset his dog in the back of his car, according to the affidavit.
Patterson said he followed the car to get its license plate number and called 911. He thought the driver of the Honda shot at him and did not realize one of his rear windows had been shot out, according to the affidavit. As Patterson pulled over by Battle Ground City Hall, 109 S.W. First St., the Honda passed him; he heard another pop, the affidavit says.
The victim “believed the driver was shooting at him again. It wasn’t until he returned home that he discovered two broken windows on his vehicle,” the affidavit says.
An officer inspected the car, noting that a passenger and driver’s side window had been shot, court records say.
Another police officer tracked the Honda to a residence in the 200 block of Southeast Fourth Street, where Chase was contacted. He admitted to being in a road rage incident with a red Subaru that had a dog in the back, according to the affidavit.
Chase’s mother consented to a search of the apartment, and police found a black revolver wrapped in a towel behind a bathroom cabinet drawer, court records say. Chase was taken into custody.
In a subsequent interview with police, Chase denied shooting or owning the firearm, but admitted his fingerprints would be on the weapon, describing it as a “family gun,” the affidavit states. Court records say he is barred from possessing any guns due to a prior felony conviction.
Investigators found the revolver had two spent shell casings in its cylinder. Chase would not consent to a swab of his hand and “got very amped up” when asked, the affidavit says.
He is set to be arraigned Feb. 7.
