A Portland man is accused in a February shooting of a man outside of a Comfort Inn & Suites in the Vancouver Mall area.
The victim is identified in court records as Cesar Camacho Trujillo. A single shot grazed his chest, struck his right index finger and then lodged in his right thigh. He was treated at a local hospital, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Court records do not state a motive for the shooting.
Elijah Wayne Lawson, 29, appeared Friday via Zoom in Clark County Superior Court on a warrant for attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, both while armed with a firearm, and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Judge Suzan Clark set Lawson’s bail at $500,000; he will be arraigned May 28.
According to the affidavit, Vancouver police responded shortly before 4:30 a.m. Feb. 18 to the hotel, 4714 N.E. 94th Ave., for a report of a shooting. Camacho Trujillo was found in the hotel lobby suffering a gunshot wound to the leg. Vancouver firefighters and AMR medical personnel responded, and he was transported for treatment.
Investigators learned that Camacho Trujillo was staying at the hotel and had just arrived in the parking lot. He was standing outside his open driver’s door when he noticed a 1999-2000 red Dodge pickup driving slowly toward him. He said he dropped something and bent over to pick it up when the pickup driver, an unknown white man, shot at him, court records say.
The truck sped out of the lot, and Camacho Trujillo ran inside the lobby to get help.
The front desk clerk and another hotel guest reported hearing the shooting, police said.
“Cesar was unable to provide any possible suspect information or motivation for someone wanting to kill him,” the investigator wrote in the affidavit.
Video surveillance showed the red pickup arriving at the hotel earlier that morning. The driver is seen entering the hotel and going to a room near Camacho Trujillo’s, where two women were also seen coming and going. The suspect is then seen returning to his truck with one of the women, just before the shooting, court records say.
The hotel’s video surveillance also captured the shooting. Investigators were able to make out distinguishing marks on the pickup and the suspect’s clothing. They distributed a bulletin with photos to area law enforcement agencies, the affidavit says.
On Feb. 20, a Gresham, Ore., police detective reached out and said multiple agencies had been looking for Lawson, who was wanted on a felony warrant and as a person of interest in a shooting there. Lawson was reportedly arrested the day prior at a Portland residence, where a red Dodge pickup was also located. A revolver was found under the driver’s seat, the affidavit states.
Officers involved in his arrest in Portland, as well as local investigators, said they believed the suspect in the bulletin photos is Lawson.
