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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Two men sentenced in fatal shooting

By , Columbian Local News Editor
Published:

Two men involved in a 2014 fatal robbery in the VanMall neighborhood were sentenced Monday in Clark County Superior Court.

Shawn Fortner, 20, of Bend, Ore., and Fortner’s cousin, Jonathan Hensey, 23, of East Wenatchee, each pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and first-degree robbery stemming from the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Craig Moritz on Feb. 4, 2014.

Fortner was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison. Hensey received a 10-year prison sentence.

The two lured Moritz and a friend, Aaron Smith, to their van under the pretense of a drug transaction and then tried to rob them. A third co-defendant, Zacheriah A. Douglas, 23, of Vancouver shot Moritz in the back when Moritz and Smith attempted to flee, according to one account in the probable cause affidavit. Moritz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Douglas pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 38 years in prison.

Fortner and Hensey initially faced murder charges, as well. However, the prosecution amended the charges in exchange for their cooperation and guilty pleas.

During their hearings, both men apologized for their actions and said they made “poor choices.”

Judge Robert Lewis agreed to follow the attorneys’ sentencing recommendations. Both Fortner and Hensey were given credit for 615 days in custody.

Lewis ordered that the men are not to have contact with each other, Douglas or the victims in the case.

The prosecution said restitution would be set at a later date.

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