A Vancouver man made a first appearance Thursday in Clark County Superior Court in connection with a shoot-out earlier this month outside the Red Lion Inn & Suites in Salmon Creek.
Juan Carlos Reyes, 44, is facing an allegation of drive-by shooting stemming from the Oct. 7 incident at the hotel, 13209 N.E. Highway 99.
Judge Suzan Clark set his bail at $30,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 28, court records show.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office was called around 3:25 a.m. for a reported disturbance with a weapon. A deputy who was assigned to follow up learned that a group of men had run east from the hotel while shooting at each other. The gunfire struck a nearby restaurant, shattering two windows, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
There were no known victims, but deputies found multiple ammunition casings at the scene from 9 mm, .22 caliber and .40 caliber weapons, the affidavit states.
A staff member who was working at the hotel’s front desk put together video from different security cameras. On one of the cameras, a man is seen running through the parking lot with what appears to be a pistol in his hand. He trips on a curb and fires the pistol at a man who is chasing him, court records say.
In another clip, two vehicles are seen arriving at the hotel and parking next to each other. Two men are also seen walking around the parking lot as the vehicles arrive. The two drivers exit their vehicles and are approached by the two men, one with a firearm in hand, according to the affidavit.
The men who exited the vehicles start chasing the two men who approached, and one, later identified by deputies as Reyes, is seen pointing his arm followed by a flash, court records state.
Another camera showed a man, also identified as Reyes, examining himself after the shooting, the affidavit says.
After he was arrested, Reyes told police that the incident was about the theft of a bag containing “a little bit” of money, court records state.
— Jessica Prokop
