Posted in Felonies on December 29, 2014
Brian J. Slay, 32, has been accused of burglary and attempted murder in Clark County. The Woodland man allegedly went into an Amboy home and shot at the owner, Thomas Schenk, when Schenk interrupted him. No one was injured.
Slay is being held on $500,000 bail and a Vancouver defense attorney was appointed to represent him. His arraignment is scheduled for January 9. He is facing charges of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Schenk returned to his home on Christmas Eve to find his garage door unlocked. The home reportedly looked as if it had been ransacked. Schenk took out his concealed handgun and moved further into the house, where he found the suspect filling a bag with Schenk’s belongings. Schenk confronted the suspect, who reportedly raised his hands and said “don’t shoot” several times. The burglar then ran to the back bedroom and reappeared holding a handgun. He ordered Schenk to drop his weapon, but Schenk refused and Slay allegedly then fired at the homeowner, hitting a wall behind him. Schenk fired back, then exited the house and took cover to call police.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and tracked the suspect with dogs. While searching, they found a knife and a pick-up truck believed to belong to the suspect. Neighbors reported seeing a man running from the house about 15 minutes before the dogs began searching. A warrant was served on the truck, and investigators found Slay’s ID inside of it. The truck was traced to the owner, Valerie Trimmer, who said she had loaned it to her daughter. The daughter, Rachelle Ward, is Slay’s girlfriend. Ward was arrested on suspicion of first-degree rendering criminal assistance for allegedly concealing the identity of a second burglary suspect from investigators.
Source: The Columbian, “Suspected burglar in Amboy shootout appears in court,” Paris Achen, December 29, 2014.
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