A transient who goes by “Peanut” and his suspected accomplice pleaded not guilty Friday to attempted murder and other crimes connected with an interrupted residential burglary and shootout Christmas Eve in Amboy.
Suspected shooter Brandon March and Brian Slay of Woodland, both 32, are charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and first-degree attempted theft. All four charges carry a firearm enhancement, each of which adds another five years to any potential sentence.
The confrontation occurred Dec. 24 when Thomas Schenk arrived at his Amboy home in the 37000 block of Northeast 216th Avenue at about 1:45 p.m. and found his garage unlocked and the inside of his house ransacked.
Drawing his concealed handgun, Schenk walked through his house and found a man, whom police later identified as March, loading a bag with Schenk’s belongings, according to court documents.
“Schenk confronted the subject, who responded by raising his hands and saying ‘don’t shoot’ multiple times,” according to a probable cause affidavit by Clark County sheriff’s Detective Scott Gilberti. The burglar sprinted to the back bedroom and then reappeared from behind a bookcase holding a handgun, Gilberti wrote. He commanded Schenk to drop his weapon, but Schenk refused to do so. The two men each fired at each other twice, according to Gilberti.
No one was injured.
Schenk, who told detectives that he feared for his life, backed out of his house and took cover behind a woodpile to call 911, according to the document.
When deputies responded, they searched the area and used a police dog to track the gunman, but didn’t locate anyone.
Investigators did, however, find a knife and a Ford F-150 pickup truck that contained Slay’s identification, according to the document. Neighbors said they saw two men in the area, and another witness saw a man running from the residence about 15 minutes before the K-9 was deployed.
Rachelle Ward, Slay’s girlfriend, also was arrested for allegedly concealing the identity of the second suspect in the burglary from investigators. She pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree rendering criminal assistance.
The next court hearing for all three defendants is set for Jan. 21.
