A Vancouver resident is accused of holding a man at gunpoint he thought was molesting a child in a van Sunday evening in Vancouver’s Hough neighborhood. Police did not find a child in the van.
Aaron N. Blakeslee, 43, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree assault and first-degree burglary. His bail was set at $50,000, and he is scheduled to be arraigned July 29.
Vancouver police responded at 8:19 p.m. to 1926 Franklin St. Callers reported that a man had a gun and was pulling someone out of a van, according to a probable cause affidavit.
When officers arrived, Blakeslee was pointing a gun at another man, who was face down on the ground outside of a van, according to court records. Blakeslee then dropped the gun. Officers detained Blakeslee and the other man, identified as Riley Thomsen.
A neighbor told police that he saw Blakeslee standing outside, looking at the van, according to court records. When the neighbor asked Blakeslee if he knew who was inside the van, he said Blakeslee replied, “No, but there’s a kid being molested in that van,” according to the affidavit.
The neighbor told police he thought it was a joke about the dilapidated nature of the van, but then saw Blakeslee open the van door and pull a handgun from his waistband. He said he watched Blakeslee point the gun inside the van and demand the person inside come out.
When officers checked inside the van for a child, they found no one else inside, according to the affidavit.
Thomsen told police he was lying on his bed inside his van, in which he lives, when Blakeslee yelled at him from outside of the van’s door. Blakeslee then opened the door of the van and pointed a gun at him, Thomsen said. He said Blakeslee kept yelling at him to get out of the van and then ordered him to lie down on the ground. Thomsen then said he heard Blakeslee yell to someone else to call the police.
An officer checked Blakeslee’s gun and saw that there was a bullet in the chamber and a magazine loaded with six rounds, all of which were hollow point self-defense rounds, court records state.
