Man appears on suspicion of Sept. 18 attempted murder

A man arrested early Saturday after an hours-long police standoff in Vancouver’s Rose Village appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of shooting another man in the face.

Freddie Junior Gonzales, 32, was held on $400,000 bail and scheduled to be arraigned on a charge of second-degree attempted murder on Oct. 11. Judge Scott Collier appointed Vancouver attorney Sean Downs to defend him.

Gonzales is accused of shooting Matthew Boorujy in the face Sept. 18 on the front porch of Boorujy’s home. Gonzales allegedly aimed at Boorujy’s head, but Boorujy attempted to dodge the bullet, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court. The bullet just grazed Boorujy’s face, right above his eye, the affidavit says. Gonzales then fled the scene.

Boorujy apparently didn’t know Gonzales, and it was unclear why Gonzales approached the victim’s home. Gonzales’ stepfather, Donald Smith, later contacted Boorujy and his wife, Savanna Bacall, and apologized for Gonzales’ actions, court documents say. The stepfather apparently told the couple that Gonzales has schizophrenia, court documents say.

Nine days later, Vancouver police received a report at about 7:35 p.m. Friday of a suicidal man at a home in the 2900 block of V Street. The subject was identified as Gonzales, who already was suspected of the Sept. 18 shooting, according to court documents. Officers established a perimeter around the house and tried to make contact with Gonzales. When no one answered the door after several attempts, members of the Southwest Washington Regional SWAT team went to the scene and communicated with Gonzales through a negotiator.

Several hours later, SWAT team members used less-than-lethal munitions — gas and rubber projectiles — to force Gonzales out of the residence. He was then taken into custody.