The alleged gunman in a fatal shooting of a 43-year-old Hazel Dell man in 2012 is now accused of breaching a cooperation agreement with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Kirk Michael Hernandez Sr., 44, of Vancouver is charged in Clark County Superior Court with first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with the death of Matthew Michael Clark.
Clark was shot and killed Oct. 1, 2012, reportedly because of a dispute over some stolen firearms, according to court documents.
During the investigation into his homicide, Hernandez agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and prosecutors in the case, including giving testimony against his accomplice, Darrell “Chris” Fry, 35, if the case went to trial.
In exchange, Hernandez would have received reduced charges of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary and be sentenced to 18 years in prison, said Deputy Prosecutor Michael Vaughn.
Hernandez was scheduled to plead guilty Thursday. Instead, the attorneys in the case argued over whether Hernandez had followed the agreement and asked Judge Scott Collier to settle the dispute. A hearing on the matter has not been scheduled.
Fry entered a Newton plea Nov. 6 to second-degree manslaughter, in which he acknowledged that a jury could find him guilty of the original charge of first-degree murder, and Fry was sentenced to four years in prison. However, he denied being involved in Clark’s homicide beyond driving Hernandez to Clark’s home on the day of the shooting.
Hernandez was expected to testify at trial that Fry also helped plan Clark’s murder. Vaughn said jurors may have questioned Hernandez’s credibility, which was one of the reasons Vaughn offered Fry a plea agreement.
After Fry’s guilty plea, Vaughn accused Hernandez of breaching their cooperation agreement.
“He didn’t give complete and truthful testimony in his interview,” Vaughn said Thursday. “Our position is, he didn’t comply (with the cooperation agreement), so we are back to square one.”
Hernandez’s attorney, Tom Phelan, denied that his client had violated the agreement.
“My client complied with the terms,” Phelan said. “The state isn’t following through with the cooperation agreement.
“I’m disappointed the state is breaking its promise to Mr. Hernandez.”
Phelan said he hasn’t prepared for Hernandez’s trial, which was set for Dec. 8, because of the cooperation agreement. He said he has other client obligations, which will prevent him from being able to go to trial for several months.
According to court documents, Hernandez previously had stolen five firearms and a police badge from the home of a retired sheriff’s deputy who lives in Battle Ground.
He said he later took five of the stolen firearms from that burglary to Clark’s house and claimed that Clark kept the weapons instead of selling them for Hernandez, court documents say.
At about 6 a.m. on the day of the homicide, Hernandez allegedly went to Clark’s home at 9610 N.E. 25th Ave. to settle the debt. He attacked Clark, knocking him to the ground. He claimed that his revolver slipped out of his pocket during a struggle with Clark and went off two or three times, court records say.
The autopsy showed Clark had two gunshot wounds and lacerations all over his body, court documents said.
