A 17-year-old boy is facing accusations of attempted first-degree murder after allegedly firing a pistol during a fight at a birthday party.
Jose Cano Silva of Portland also appeared Monday morning via Zoom in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He is being held at the juvenile detention center.
The prosecution said Cano Silva has no known prior criminal history.
Judge David Gregerson said it was “quite a miracle” that no one was injured. He set Cano Silva’s bail at $250,000. The teen is scheduled to be arraigned March 5.
Vancouver police were dispatched shortly before 11:30 p.m. Saturday for a reported disturbance with a weapon at The Park at Mill Plain, an apartment complex at 206 N.E. 126th Ave.
The 911 caller said there were about 10 people gathered outside an apartment, and someone was yelling about a gun. Someone yelled, “I am going to get the gun from my car, you (expletive)!,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The dispatcher then heard what sounded like a gunshot, and immediately after, several people called 911 to report hearing gunfire, the affidavit says.
When police arrived, people outside near the C building were yelling that a male was shooting a gun inside one of the units. People then began exiting the apartment. Police cleared the residence and found two spent shell casings on the floor in the living room, as well as two holes in the floor, court records say.
After interviewing witnesses, police learned that there had been a large birthday party going on, with several young children present. At some point, a physical fight broke out between Cano Silva and the victim, identified as 25-year-old Jallah Lomax. Cano Silva threatened to retrieve a gun from his car to kill Lomax and then left the apartment, the affidavit states.
Cano Silva then returned to the apartment with a pistol. First he fired one shot into the ground outside, and then pointed the weapon at Lomax. Lomax grabbed Cano Silva. They struggled over the gun, during which two more shots were fired, according to the court document.
Lomax successfully wrestled the gun away from Cano Silva and handed it to a friend, court records say.
Police seized the gun, described as a black 9 mm pistol; it still had rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, police said.
Cano Silva refused to talk with police. Before he was arrested, officers found a 9 mm round in his pocket that appeared to match the ammunition in the handgun, the court document states.
