A Vancouver woman is accused of shooting a bouncer in the leg last month at a bar in Vancouver’s Fircrest neighborhood after her husband began fighting with a man he believed was in a rival gang.
Michelle Vega Martinez, 24, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree assault and aiming or discharging a firearm. Her bail was set at $50,000, and she is scheduled to be arraigned July 29.
Vancouver police responded at 1:46 a.m. June 3 to the parking lot of the Offramp Sports Bar & Grill at 400 N.E. 112th Ave.
Witnesses reported that Vega Martinez’s husband, Matthew “Malo” Vargas Lopez, picked a fight with a stranger, later identified as Jared Taylor, because he was wearing a red shirt, according to a probable cause affidavit. Officers suspected Vargas Lopez was a member of a rival gang.
Court records allege Vega Martinez pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots toward Taylor. One of the shots hit a bouncer, who was standing behind Taylor, and went through the man’s calf.
Taylor ran away from the shooting and the bouncer drove himself to a hospital, according to the affidavit. As Vega Martinez and her husband drove away from the bar, a witness took a photo of their car’s license plate.
Video surveillance captured the fight in the parking lot and also showed Vega Martinez inside the bar using her credit card to buy drinks, court records state.
Police executed a search warrant on Vega Martinez’s residence Friday and arrested her.
The affidavit states that Vega Martinez admitted to the shooting to police but said Taylor had pulled out a knife and stabbed her husband before she fired any shots. Court records state Vargas Lopez told officers he was at the bar but that he doesn’t remember the incident. He said he did have a cut but didn’t remember when it happened. He never sought medical attention for the cut, he said.
The affidavit states Vargas Lopez admitted his gang affiliation and said he does not like red or those who wear red.
