Thursday, January 23 , 2025

Stories by Jessica Prokop

Columbian Local News Editor

jessica.prokop@columbian.com

Jesse T. Shehan appears Monday in Clark County Superior Court on an allegation of vehicular homicide. He’s accused of hitting two people with his car as they helped him park, killing one, on Sunday in Washougal.

85-year-old Washougal man faces vehicular homicide after hitting 2 people, killing 1 at Big Foot tavern

Jesse T. Shehan appears Monday in Clark County Superior Court on an allegation of vehicular homicide. He’s accused of hitting two people with his car as they helped him park, killing one, on Sunday in Washougal.

December 26, 2024, 12:11pm Clark County News

An 85-year-old man is accused of hitting two people with his car on Sunday in Washougal as they were helping him to park, killing one. Read story

Serial killer Warren Forrest leaves the courtroom after jury selection in his cold-case murder trial at the Clark County Courthouse on Jan. 24, 2023.

Cold-case team seeks to link trace evidence to suspected victim of serial killer Warren Forrest

Serial killer Warren Forrest leaves the courtroom after jury selection in his cold-case murder trial at the Clark County Courthouse on Jan. 24, 2023.

December 9, 2024, 2:14pm Clark County News

A reestablished team of Clark County cold-case investigators is hoping to link trace evidence to one of serial killer Warren Forrest’s suspected victims from 50 years ago. Read story

Police vehicles sit outside Macy’s at the Vancouver Mall on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, after a shooting.

One person dead, two injured in shooting at Vancouver Mall food court

Police vehicles sit outside Macy’s at the Vancouver Mall on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, after a shooting.

October 31, 2024, 10:30pm Clark County News Free

One person is dead and two people were injured in a shooting at Vancouver Mall on Halloween night. The suspect in the shooting is not in custody, Vancouver police said about 10 p.m. Thursday. Read story

Kirkland Warren, 28, listens during his change of plea hearing Thursday in Clark County Superior Court. Warren pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of his former girlfriend, 27-year-old Meshay Melendez, and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, respectively.

Days before trial, Kirkland Warren pleads guilty to murders of Meshay Melendez and Layla Stewart

Kirkland Warren, 28, listens during his change of plea hearing Thursday in Clark County Superior Court. Warren pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of his former girlfriend, 27-year-old Meshay Melendez, and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, respectively.

September 5, 2024, 3:54pm Clark County News

In an eleventh-hour decision, the man who fatally shot a Vancouver mother and her 7-year-old daughter and dumped their bodies along a rural road in Washougal pleaded guilty Thursday in their murders. Read story

First responders work at the scene after a shooting left two people dead in central Vancouver on July 25.

The victim in a Vancouver murder-suicide had a protection order but Clark County judges say the law doesn’t let them take guns from abusers

First responders work at the scene after a shooting left two people dead in central Vancouver on July 25.

August 12, 2024, 6:05am Clark County News Subscriber Exclusive

Carissa Larkin feared for her life after obtaining a civil domestic violence protection order in April against her former fiance. Read story

Rainbow fentanyl pills and powder come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

‘We can’t idly stand by and let children be harmed’: Lawmakers want to expand drug endangerment law

Rainbow fentanyl pills and powder come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

August 10, 2024, 6:14am Clark County News Subscriber Exclusive

In early May, Vancouver police responded to their second call of the day involving a young child believed to have overdosed from illicit drugs — this one, a 3-year-old girl on fentanyl. Before they arrived, her grandmother gave her naloxone, a drug used to counteract opioid overdoses. It took two… Read story

Northbound traffic beyond a road closure backs up on Interstate 205 on Monday, June 10, 2024, in Vancouver. Suspects in an Oregon vehicle theft barricaded themselves in a semi cab on Interstate 205, forcing the closure of all lanes in both directions for about two hours Monday morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Standoff closes all lanes of I-205 near Highway 500 in Vancouver for two hours

Northbound traffic beyond a road closure backs up on Interstate 205 on Monday, June 10, 2024, in Vancouver. Suspects in an Oregon vehicle theft barricaded themselves in a semi cab on Interstate 205, forcing the closure of all lanes in both directions for about two hours Monday morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

June 10, 2024, 6:05pm Clark County News Free

Suspects in an Oregon vehicle theft barricaded themselves in a semitruck cab on Interstate 205 in Vancouver, forcing the closure of all lanes in both directions for about two hours Monday morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. Read story

On Wednesday, Julio Segura recounts his memory of the events that led to the death of Vancouver Police Officer Donald Sahota. A jury found Segura guilty of murder on Friday.

Segura guilty of murder in death of Vancouver police Officer Donald Sahota

On Wednesday, Julio Segura recounts his memory of the events that led to the death of Vancouver Police Officer Donald Sahota. A jury found Segura guilty of murder on Friday.

May 24, 2024, 4:09pm Clark County News

A Clark County Superior Court jury Friday convicted a Yakima man of murdering off-duty Vancouver police Officer Donald Sahota. Read story

A Clark County Sheriff's vehicle is decorated in honor of Sgt. Jeremy Brown outside ilani casino Aug. 3.

Vancouver man to serve more than 17 years for role in gun-trafficking connected to sheriff’s deputy’s murder

A Clark County Sheriff's vehicle is decorated in honor of Sgt. Jeremy Brown outside ilani casino Aug. 3.

April 25, 2024, 7:30pm Clark County News

A Vancouver man was sentenced April 18 to more than 17 years in prison for his role in helping to sell stolen firearms in the trafficking scheme that led to the 2021 fatal shooting of Clark County sheriff’s Detective Jeremy Brown. Read story

The Vancouver Fire Department was called to help Vancouver police at 6 p.m. Saturday with a man on the roof of Little Conejo, 114 W. Sixth St. The man then climbed out onto communication wires above the street.

Man dangling from communication wires falls onto fire engine, prompts street closure in downtown Vancouver

The Vancouver Fire Department was called to help Vancouver police at 6 p.m. Saturday with a man on the roof of Little Conejo, 114 W. Sixth St. The man then climbed out onto communication wires above the street.

March 24, 2024, 11:17am Clark County News

First responders Saturday evening shut down a portion of West Sixth Street in downtown Vancouver for a man who climbed out onto communication wires and dangled from them for nearly an hour. Read story