A 21-year-old Vancouver man has been charged in connection with a drive-by shooting that took place near the Dodge City Saloon.
Stephen P. Mercer will be arraigned Friday in Clark County Superior Court on charges of drive-by shooting and possession of marijuana.
After he was taken into custody last Friday, Mercer posted $25,000 bail and was released from the Clark County Jail.
The incident happened about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 28. Police say Mercer and a friend got into an argument with a patron standing in a line to get inside the bar, which is at 4250 E. Fourth Plain Blvd. The two then left in a four-door Chevrolet Malibu.
Moments later, people in line saw the car whiz past the bar. Mercer allegedly pointed a .45 caliber handgun outside the Chevrolet and fired five rounds, according to a Vancouver Police Department report.
No one was hurt and none of the rounds hit the bar or any other buildings.
“It sounds like they were all fired up in the air,” said VPD spokeswoman Kim Kapp. “Fortunately the incident was over pretty quickly.”
Officers found several shell casings in the road between Dodge City and the Bagley Downs Estates apartments.
Other responding officers followed the Chevrolet to a convenience store in the 5400 block of Fourth Plain, where Mercer was subsequently arrested, Kapp said.
The handgun believed to be used in the shooting was found in the car’s glove box, where officers also allegedly found a small amount of marijuana.
Mercer made his first appearance in Superior Court Monday. Friday, he is expected to enter a plea to the charges.
