A Portland man was sentenced last month to more than six years in prison for a February 2021 shooting of a man outside a Vancouver Comfort Inn & Suites.
Elijah W. Lawson, 30, pleaded guilty June 22 in Clark County Superior Court to drive-by shooting and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, both while armed with a firearm, and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Court records state Lawson had credit for more than a year of time served.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Vancouver police responded shortly before 4:30 a.m. Feb. 18, 2021, to the hotel, 4714 N.E. 94th Ave., for a report of a shooting.
Cesar Camacho Trujillo was found in the hotel lobby suffering a gunshot. A single shot grazed his chest, struck his right index finger and then lodged in his right thigh, according to the affidavit. Vancouver firefighters and AMR personnel responded, and he was taken to a local hospital 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 retrieve it when the pickup driver, later identified by police as Lawson, shot at him, court records say.
The truck sped out of the lot, and Camacho Trujillo ran inside the lobby to get help.
Video surveillance showed the red pickup arriving at the hotel earlier that morning. Lawson is seen entering the hotel and going to a room near Camacho Trujillo’s, where two women were also seen coming and going. He is then seen returning to his truck with one of the women, just before the shooting, court records say.
Court records do not state a motive for the shooting.
The hotel’s video surveillance also captured the shooting. Lawson was identified after investigators distributed a bulletin with photos to area law enforcement agencies, the affidavit says.
On Feb. 20, 2021, 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.
