A judge on Thursday ordered the Vancouver Mall shooting suspect remain held in the Clark County Jail without bail, despite defense requests to set a bail amount.
Travis L. Ward, 32, is charged in Clark County Superior Court with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The charging information states prosecutors are seeking an exceptionally high sentence for the murder charge, if Ward is convicted, because of the danger to mall patrons.
Defense attorney Renee Alsept asked Judge John Fairgrieve to set a bail amount for Ward. She pointed to Ward’s criminal history, saying his prior convictions were nonviolent. She also noted he has strong ties to the community and a place to live locally if he posted bail.
But Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Smith pointed to the severity of the shooting in the mall, which was crowded with adults and children for a Halloween trick-or-treating event.
“These acts terrorized this community,” Smith said.
If Ward is convicted, Smith said she intends to ask for the assault and murder charge sentences to run consecutive to each other, which would be in addition to 15 years for firearms enhancements.
In ordering Ward be held without bail, Fairgrieve said he considered the probable cause affidavit in the case and Ward’s criminal history, which includes a prior felon in possession of a firearm conviction. He also noted the psychological impact to everyone at the mall during the shooting.
“It’s hard to think of a type of environment that would be more dangerous to the public,” the judge said.
Ward is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 12.
Shooting
Law enforcement from several agencies responded to the mall at 7:28 p.m. Oct. 31. When they arrived, they found a man, later identified as James Perez, 26, on the ground in the food court with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Officers also learned two other people, identified as Brandon Leyrer and Daniel Martin, were struck by bullets, in the abdomen and the foot, respectively, court records state. They were treated at a local hospital and released the next day.
Mall surveillance video showed a person, later identified as Ward, wearing blue track-style pants, a black hoodie and a Joker mask following Perez for a short time before shooting him in the back of the head at point-blank range. Ward could then be seen firing several more rounds as Perez dropped to the ground. Ward then ran from the scene, according to the affidavit.
Perez’s girlfriend told police she and Perez went to the mall to trick-or-treat with their children. She said their son became separated from them, and they were looking for him when Perez was shot, court records state.
Investigators determined Ward was with two women and a child in a costume until just before the shooting, and they all left the mall together afterward, according to the affidavit.
Vancouver police released images of the women who were with Ward in a news release, in hopes of talking with them.
One of the women then contacted police, and she told them she is Ward’s girlfriend. They were at the mall with her child and Ward’s mother for trick-or-treating, she said. She didn’t know Ward had shot anyone, she said, according to court records.
Investigators said based on surveillance video, it did not appear any of the women with Ward knew of the shooting, the affidavit states.
Officers were then able to find Ward on Nov. 2 at his apartment, 13906 S.E. 18th Circle, and arrested him. Investigators showed Ward the surveillance video, but they said in the affidavit Ward would not admit to the shooting or provide an explanation for shooting Perez.
