Judge dismisses Vancouver man’s 2018 attempted murder charge

A judge dismissed charges, including attempted murder, against a Vancouver man who was accused in a 2018 gunfight in the Ellsworth Springs neighborhood that apparently stemmed from a drug deal.

Andrew C. Morris, 27, was charged in Clark County Superior Court with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Luka Vitasovic filed a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice — meaning the prosecution could refile charges later — because the victim was uncooperative. Judge Suzan Clark signed the order of dismissal Tuesday, court records show.

Court records indicate Morris was claiming self-defense in the shooting.

Morris’ defense attorney, Angus Lee, said the dismissal comes after additional requests to interview the victim, identified in court records as Devan Graham.

Lee’s court filings state crime lab testing contradicted Graham’s story to police that Morris shot him while they were both inside a car. Lee’s motion states the crime lab concluded the shots were fired at a distance greater than would’ve been possible inside a car; there was also no evidence of a shooting inside the car.

After Graham refused to participate in follow-up interviews with attorneys, a judge ordered Graham be deposed. During the deposition, Graham invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, in response to nearly all questions, court records state. A hearing was scheduled for today to address Lee’s motion to admit the deposition at trial or hold Graham in contempt.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Jan. 3, 2018, Vancouver police were called to a shooting at Southeast 104th Avenue and 10th Street, where they found both Morris and Graham, then 18, suffering gunshot wounds. The men had exchanged gunfire during a drug transaction, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Morris told officers that Graham walked up to him on the street, asked for marijuana and then shot him in the leg. He said he returned fire, the affidavit states.

When further questioned, Morris changed his story. He denied having a firearm and said he didn’t know who shot Graham. But then Morris told police he was shot while wrestling with Graham. He said Graham must have had two firearms, because he saw the second one on the ground, picked it up and shot Graham, court records say.

When questioned, Graham told police he had arranged to sell Xanax to an acquaintance, Lurdes Reyna, then 18. During this meeting, Graham and Reyna drove into a nearby neighborhood, where they picked up Morris, the affidavit states.

They were talking about the transaction, Graham said, when Morris produced a firearm and held it to Graham’s head, demanding his belongings. Graham handed over the Xanax, he said, and reached into his backpack, where he had a handgun wrapped in a sweatshirt, with one round in the clip, court records say.

Graham said Morris must have heard him rack the slide to chamber the round, because Morris shot Graham in the arm. Graham pulled out his handgun and shot Morris as he exited the vehicle, he said. Graham dropped something as he fled, he said, and Morris shot him in the buttocks as he picked it up. Another shot struck his head, according to court documents.

Reyna pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery in August 2020 for her involvement in the incident. She was sentenced to three months in custody.