The Columbian

Courts & Crime

A bill strengthening peer support counseling for first responders passed the state legislature last week and has advanced to the governor's desk. The bill particularly seeks to bolster confidentiality protections, following a Clark County Superior Court ruling that found officers who sought group counseling following Vancouver police Officer Donald Sahota's slaying could be deposed about the counseling session. This screenshot from video provided by the Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team shows members of law enforcement at the scene after the the shooting.

Bill that protects peer support counseling for first responders heads to Gov. Inslee

March 13, 2024, 6:08am Clark County News Subscriber Exclusive

A bill that aims to expand and strengthen peer support counseling services for first responders is on the governor’s desk after passing the Legislature on March 1. Read story

The Clark County Courthouse (The Columbian files)

Vancouver man held after parking dispute becomes violent

March 8, 2024, 9:56pm Clark County News

A Vancouver man is accused of injuring a neighbor with an ax after apparently mistaking a car parked in his spot for the neighbor’s car. Read story

Clark County sheriff's deputies are investigating an incident in Hazel Dell in which a man was severely injured.

Clark County deputies looking for information about injured man

March 8, 2024, 2:55pm Clark County News Free

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for information about a man who was seriously injured Thursday morning on Highway 99 in Hazel Dell. Read story

Kirkland Warren makes a first appearance on suspicion of murder in the deaths of his former girlfriend, Meshay Melendez, and her daughter, Layla Stewart, as Judge Suzan Clark looks on at the Clark County Courthouse on Monday afternoon, April 3, 2023.

Wife of murder suspect Kirkland Warren sentenced for stealing from credit union accounts

March 7, 2024, 7:55pm Clark County News

The wife of Kirkland Warren, the man charged in the March 2023 slayings of a Vancouver mother and daughter, was sentenced to two years of probation last month for stealing money from credit union accounts in Portland. Read story

In July 2022, a Superior Court jury found Mark Hensley, 49, guilty of felony harassment after two days of trial. Judge Robert Lewis sentenced him to 90 days in jail, court records show.

Appeals court overturns Vancouver man’s conviction for threatening Clark County Superior Court judge

March 5, 2024, 5:31pm Clark County News

The Washington Court of Appeals reversed a Vancouver man’s 2022 conviction for threatening to kill a Clark County Superior Court judge, citing violations of his First Amendment protections. Read story

Christopher J. Withey, 39, appears in Clark County Superior Court on Monday on suspicion of first-degree arson, fourth-degree assault and three counts of felony harassment. The Vancouver man is accused of trying to set fire to Brickhouse Bar & Grill in downtown Vancouver on a busy Friday night.

Vancouver man in court in attempted arson case

March 4, 2024, 6:19pm Clark County News

A Vancouver man suspected of dumping gasoline and attempting to ignite a fire in the entrance of a popular downtown Vancouver bar and restaurant made a first appearance Monday in Clark County Superior Court. Read story

A bank card skimmer was found at a Battle Ground Walmart.

Battle Ground Walmart employees find bank card skimmer at register

March 4, 2024, 5:18pm Clark County News

Employees at the Battle Ground Walmart reported to police Sunday they found a bank card skimmer attached to a register. Read story

Police lights flash on the roof of a Vancouver police vehicle.

37-year-old Vancouver pedestrian was man killed in Feb. 18 crash

March 4, 2024, 4:08pm Clark County News

The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday identified a 37-year-old Vancouver man as the pedestrian fatally struck by a vehicle Feb. 18 in the Van Mall neighborhood. Read story

Richard Eugene Knapp, 57, is suing the Vancouver police department after spending three years in jail in connection with a 1994 murder before being released and the charges dropped.

‘Plaintiff’s life was destroyed’: Man held for three years in 1994 Vancouver cold-case murder sues police detective

March 4, 2024, 7:43am Clark County News

A former Oregon man who was jailed for three years on charges accusing him of the 1994 cold-case rape and murder of a Vancouver woman — only to have the case dismissed — has sued the detective who accused him, alleging he “made deliberately false statements” and acted “with reckless… Read story