A man faces an allegation of drive-by shooting after police said he shot at a group in the parking lot of Vancouver Plaza on Wednesday evening.
Jace D. Koch, 18, of Vancouver appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of drive-by shooting and second-degree possession of a firearm. He is currently on juvenile probation for third-degree assault and theft, court records show.
Multiple people called 911 about 6:45 p.m. to report that a man in a white 1991 Chevrolet Camaro fired two shots at a group of about 30 people in the 7600 block of Vancouver Plaza Drive, according to a probable cause affidavit.
An officer in the area saw the Camaro speeding south on Auto Mall Drive. He stopped the vehicle behind a nearby gas station and detained the driver, identified as Koch, and a passenger. A single shell casing was found on the ground next to the driver’s door of the Camaro when Koch left the vehicle, the affidavit states.
Responding officers also recovered a single shell casing in the parking lot where the alleged shooting took place, court records state.
Koch told police he was approached by a group of 20 to 30 people in the parking lot after he had done a “burnout” near where the group was having an impromptu car meeting. He said people became angry over the burnout and threatened to jump him and his friends, according to court documents.
He got into his vehicle and started to drive away, but the group chased after him and began hitting and kicking the trunk of his car. Koch said he was afraid he was going to be assaulted and was angry about his car being struck, so he pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, pointed it out the passenger’s side window and fired two shots, the affidavit states.
Koch said he wasn’t aiming at anyone and didn’t intend to hurt anyone. He was scared, he said, and wanted to get the crowd away from him and his car. Koch told police the shots were blanks and that he tossed the handgun out the window along the fence line between Auto Mall Drive and state Highway 500, court records said.
A passenger in Koch’s vehicle was cooperative with police and was not arrested.
During his hearing, Koch’s bail was set at $50,000, and he is scheduled to be arraigned March 30.
