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Vancouver man gets 38 years in slaying

He fatally shot man last year while trying to rob him of drugs

By Jessica Prokop, Columbian Local News Editor
Published: September 28, 2015, 6:54pm

The gunman in a 2014 fatal robbery in the VanMall neighborhood was sentenced to more than 38 years in prison after changing his plea to guilty.

Zacheriah A. Douglas, 23, of Vancouver pleaded guilty Friday in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree murder for his part in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Craig Moritz, court documents show.

Douglas and two co-defendants — Shawn Fortner, 20, of Bend, Ore., and Fortner’s cousin, Jonathan Hensey, 23, of East Wenatchee — reportedly lured Moritz and a friend, Aaron Smith, to their van under the pretense of a drug transaction and then tried to rob them.

The two were attempting to flee when Douglas shot Moritz in the back, killing him, according to one account in the probable cause affidavit. Douglas was also accused of attempting to shoot Smith, but the pistol he was using either jammed or ran out of ammunition, the prosecution previously said.

Douglas faced another count of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. However, in exchange for his guilty plea, the other counts were dismissed, according to court documents. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said Monday that a separate pending charge of being a prisoner in possession of a dangerous weapon was also dismissed.

Fortner and Hensey still face two counts of first-degree murder. They are set to go on trial Oct. 26.

Authorities say Moritz and Smith left a friend’s apartment at about 2 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2014, and went to the 7700 block of Northeast Vancouver Mall Drive to sell some marijuana to Fortner. Fortner and Hensey picked them up in a purple minivan and drove them to a parking lot in the same block, according to the affidavit.

While in the parking lot, a masked man, identified as Douglas, emerged from the back of the minivan and held Moritz and Smith at gunpoint, court records said. Smith said the man threatened to shoot them and demanded they hand over all of their belongings, the affidavit said.

When the men attempted to flee, Douglas shot at them. Moritz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fortner later told police that he, Hensey and Douglas had met Moritz and Smith to rob them of their drugs. He said Douglas shot Moritz when Moritz and Smith tried to flee, according to court documents.

On Friday, Judge Robert Lewis sentenced Douglas to 460 months in prison, including five years for a firearms enhancement. Douglas was additionally sentenced to 36 months of community custody and is not to have contact with either co-defendant or the victims in the case, court records stated.

Douglas was given credit for 508 days in custody.

Vu said in an interview on Monday that Douglas was allowed to address Moritz’s family and apologized.

“It’s a sad case,” Vu said. “I’m just glad there’s some level of closure for the family and that they can move on with their grief, as well as their mourning, and make the best of what they have.”

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