An 82-year-old Woodland man is accused of shooting a handyman in the chest after the man came to his house to collect money he said he was owed.
Joseph L. Ralls appeared Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court on a summons charging him with first-degree assault and three counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Judge Nancy Retsinas placed Ralls on supervised release and ordered he wear a GPS tracking device, because of Ralls’ age and the fact he uses a wheelchair.
Woodland police responded at 3:16 p.m. July 27 to a shooting at Horseshoe Lake Mobile Home Park, 296 Island Aire Drive. Dispatch told officers someone had reportedly been shot but left in a Dodge pickup, according to a probable cause affidavit.
When officers arrived, they found a man, later identified as Ralls, fallen at the bottom of a wheelchair ramp. Officers said Ralls told them a burglar tried to enter his home, court records state. He refused medical treatment and came to the Woodland Police Department to talk with officers.
At 3:30 p.m., Woodland officers were notified of a shooting victim outside the Cowlitz Tribal police station. The man was identified as Kenneth Aguilar, 33. He told officers he’d gone to Ralls’ house to collect money Ralls owed him when Ralls shot him, the affidavit states.
Detectives saw a bullet hole in a window of Ralls’ house, about 5 feet to the right of the front door. They also found blood smeared at the bottom of the wheelchair ramp leading to the front door, according to court records.
Officers said Ralls told them he fell from his motorized wheelchair and had dropped a gun behind one of the skirting panels of his house. Detectives found what appeared to be a revolver, the affidavit states.
Court records state that Ralls told investigators Aguilar had been a handyman for him for a few months, but he believed Aguilar was using drugs. He also claimed Aguilar was harassing and threatening his wife while he was in the hospital for several weeks, but officers said Ralls couldn’t recall specifics.
Ralls said Aguilar came to his house demanding $100, but he said Aguilar was only owed $25 for a lawn mower belt. He said his wife tried to give Aguilar a check for $25, but Aguilar refused to accept it, according to the affidavit.
Ralls told officers he was defending his house when he shot Aguilar because Aguilar was standing outside on the wheelchair ramp, the affidavit states.
Investigators said Ralls also told them more than once that he wished he was a better shot. He later said Aguilar was a “tweaker that needed to be put down.” He said he went outside after he shot Aguilar to check where he was when he fell from his wheelchair, according to the affidavit.
Ralls’ wife told officers a similar version of events before she saw Ralls shoot Aguilar. She could not recall any threat of violence from Aguilar and said Aguilar did not attempt to come into the house, court records state.
Officers recovered the revolver Ralls used, along with two long guns, from the house. They also confirmed Ralls is a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing firearms, according to the affidavit.
Aguilar underwent surgery at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver to remove the bullet from his right, upper chest and is expected to fully recover, the affidavit states. Officers did not arrest Ralls or take him to jail because of his age and health concerns.
