A judge set bail at $750,000 for a Vancouver man accused of shooting his girlfriend’s estranged husband during a confrontation March 6 at a Hazel Dell apartment complex.
Kenneth Michael Debruyn, 40, appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court on a warrant alleging attempted first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, possession of another’s identification and attempted theft of a motor vehicle.
The prosecution said Debruyn was arrested in Oregon.
Debruyn is scheduled to be arraigned April 24.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies responded at about 1:35 a.m. on a Monday to the Dell Terrace Apartments, 7422 N.E. Hazel Dell Ave., after multiple 911 callers reported hearing a gunshot and screams, according to a prior sheriff’s office statement.
First responders found a man in the parking lot with a single gunshot wound to the left side of his torso.
The man, identified in court records as 37-year-old Steven M. Limon, underwent surgery to remove what appeared to be a 9 mm bullet lodged in his back, according to a probable cause affidavit. He was expected to survive.
At the hospital, Limon told investigators he and his wife, Traci Bojorquez, had been separated on-and-off for the last year. He refused to identify his shooter or say what led to the shooting, other than calling it “some ‘Jerry Springer’ stuff,” court records state.
Bojorquez told investigators her new boyfriend had shot her estranged husband, who had been living in San Diego. A domestic violence report from November 2022 listed Bojorquez and Debruyn as being in a dating relationship, according to the affidavit.
Deputies had been called earlier that night, Bojorquez said, after Limon came to the apartment and threatened to die by suicide if she didn’t go with him to California, court records state.
Limon later returned, she said, and Debruyn shot him, the affidavit says.
A Vancouver police officer spotted Bojorquez’s Hyundai at about 2:20 a.m. in the North Image neighborhood of east Vancouver. The driver tried to elude police but crashed after a few blocks and then ran. The vehicle was recovered by police near Northeast 49th Street and 137th Avenue.
A passenger in the crashed car, Jaimie Sauls, identified the driver as Debruyn, according to the affidavit.
Sauls told investigators Debruyn and Bojorquez live at the Hazel Dell apartment. Sauls said she heard Debruyn tell Bojorquez if Limon returned, he would shoot him, court records state.
Video surveillance at the complex captured some of the confrontation.
Afterward, Debruyn drove to a house, Sauls said, where he unsuccessfully tried to start a motorcycle. He then returned to the car, she said, and drove until he crashed, according to court records.
Investigators found a loaded handgun magazine, a magazine pouch and suspected methamphetamine in the car. They said Limon’s wallet and identification were found in a yard not far from the crash scene. They also determined the recovered motorcycle was stolen, and a key ring found with it held several shaved keys and a lock pick, the affidavit states.
Court records state Debruyn has a lengthy criminal history and is prohibited from possessing a firearm. He also had a warrant out of Clackamas County, Ore., issued in January for eluding police, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.
