A Vancouver man is accused of shooting another man in the stomach during an argument outside a 1-year-old’s June birthday party in east Vancouver.
Andres Garcia Ramirez, 18, appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree assault. Judge John Fairgrieve set his bail at $300,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned July 19, court records show.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after midnight June 11 for a report of a disturbance with a weapon at Northeast Ninth Street and 163rd Avenue. An anonymous 911 caller reported hearing two shots and screaming. Dispatch subsequently told deputies a car with a broken taillight and headlight picked up the shooter and left, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Arriving deputies found Carlos Gustavo Guevara Mejia, 21, on the ground with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. Deputies later learned he suffered a broken pelvis, the affidavit states.
Witnesses said a man, later identified as Garcia Ramirez, shot Guevara Mejia, and then a group of people tackled Garcia Ramirez in the street and took his gun. They intended to hold him until police arrived, one witness said, but a car drove up, and a man got out with a gun. That man told the group to let Garcia Ramirez go. Garcia Ramirez then jumped inside the car, and they left, court records say.
Deputies found the car a short time later and detained five males, including Garcia Ramirez, and a sergeant found a black pistol in the area. None of the car’s occupants wanted to make a statement, and at the time, witnesses had not made any statements that identified the shooter, the affidavit states. The males were identified and released.
Investigators said they found two fired casings, as well as a short-barreled rifle in a tree, in the 800 block of 163rd Avenue, according to the affidavit.
Deputies later learned everyone involved had attended a 1-year-old’s birthday party. An argument broke out between Garcia Ramirez and Guevara Mejia, and they moved from the party to the street. Witnesses said Garcia Ramirez brandished a firearm and then shot Guevara Mejia once. Guevara Mejia told investigators the fight stemmed over a comment about his brother’s drinking, court records say.
Garcia Ramirez was booked July 5 into the Clark County Jail. Court records don’t detail his arrest.
