Prosecutors will charge Warren with aggravated murder in shooting deaths of Meshay Melendez, daughter LaylaFree

According to Vancouver police, Layla was shot twice in the head, and Melendez was shot once in the left temple, both by a small caliber gun similar to a .22

Warren, whom police previously named as a person of interest in their disappearances, has been in the Clark County Jail since March 19, when he was re-arrested.

He is tentatively scheduled to be arraigned on the murder charges April 17.

Restive audience

Dozens of people attended the hearing virtually and in person; Warren’s case was not heard until nearly three hours into the lengthy court docket. Judge Suzan Clark had cautioned the courtroom several times that any outbursts would result in people’s removal.

Michelle Bart, from the National Women’s Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation, said it was wrong for the court to take so long to call Warren’s case.

“We sat here for three hours. The family didn’t want to leave thinking that they would miss the opportunity if the case came up. So with that, the entire family, all of us in that courtroom and the 500 people on the Zoom had to endure every single case,” said Bart, who represents the family. “We need to do better in Clark County. We just re-victimized an entire family of victims that are here to have justice for Meshay and Layla.”

While waiting for the case to be called, many observers posted in the Zoom meeting chat “Justice for Meshay & Layla”; others criticized the court for Warren’s prior bail and release, shared condolences and prayers for the family, and commented on bail amounts set in other domestic violence cases. The comments prompted the docket defense attorney to voice concerns.

“Honestly, I’m worried about the other defendants’ safety if I ask for contact information. There are a lot of comments being made about different people, and it’s not appropriate,” attorney Marina Spencer said.

The judge then asked for the chat feature to be disabled. Clark said there were nearly 500 participants on Zoom — most there for Warren’s hearing — which “just about brought (the docket) to a halt today.” Shortly after, people continued to interrupt the proceedings by failing to mute themselves, prompting Clark to give a final warning before Zoom access would be shut down.

“Because you freed him. That’s what you did,” someone on the call responded.

One point of contention in Warren’s case is why prosecutors didn’t request he be subject to a GPS ankle monitor, for domestic violence offenders who are released pending trial, and the court didn’t order it at his March 3 first appearance for drive-by shooting. Warren was accused of shooting at Melendez’s apartment in the Minnehaha area Dec. 13.

On Monday, Clark, the judge who handled that March 3 hearing, ordered electronic monitoring in multiple domestic violence cases, regardless of victim cooperation. (An internal document from the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which provides guidance to domestic violence prosecutors, states prosecutors will not request electronic monitoring unless the victim in the case wants it.)

She also ordered Warren be held without bail. She acknowledged she was the judge who had initially set bail in his drive-by shooting case; Clark said she had “substantially less information” at that time and granted the prosecution’s request of $100,000 bail. Warren posted bail later that day, court records indicate, and he was released March 8.

“Unfortunately, we’re back here,” she said.

Clark also noted bail in the murder case is “somewhat academic” because Warren is being held without bail on a warrant out of Arkansas. He is charged there with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse for allegedly shooting a man in the head and leaving his body in a ditch in November 2017. A judge had ordered $250,000 bail in the case, and Warren posted bond, court records show.

After the hearing, Bart called for courts to change the way they address bail in domestic violence cases after observing Monday.

“Hearing some of the bail amounts in there for the same kind of perpetrators that Warren is, I hope and pray all the people they give protective orders to, that they get better at protecting those people,” she said. “Every case is not the same. Every DV case, every sexual assault case, they’re all different; but if you’re dealing with somebody who has no problem shooting at people and pistol-whipping women, why would we let them out on the streets? And if there are rules and laws for that purpose, then I say let’s amend the Constitution.”

Police investigation

Vancouver police had conducted a welfare check on Melendez and Layla at about 2:15 p.m. March 18 at Springfield Meadows Apartments, 4317 N.E. 66th Ave., after family members reported they hadn’t heard from them since March 11. A friend told the family the pair hadn’t been home in several days, and their dog was inside the apartment barking, a police news release states.

When officers were let inside Melendez’s apartment, they found no one inside except for the dog, police said.

Officers learned Melendez, Layla and Warren had gone to an acquaintance’s apartment at about 5 a.m. March 12. Layla stayed there while Melendez and Warren went out, according to police.

Warren returned at about 8 a.m., and the acquaintance said she saw Melendez “passed out” in the passenger’s seat of his burgundy Dodge Charger. The woman said she shook Melendez several times but could not wake her. Warren went inside the apartment, got Layla and drove off with both, according to a probable cause affidavit.

On March 19, Melendez’s mother found her daughter’s car, a Chrysler 200, in the 7800 block of Northeast Loowit Loop in the VanMall neighborhood. Police seized her car as evidence, police previously said.

Also on March 19, police served a search warrant at Warren’s residence in the 3700 block of Northeast 109th Avenue in Vancouver’s Kevanna Park neighborhood, police said.