A Vancouver man allegedly involved in a gunfight in the Ellsworth Springs neighborhood in early January is facing an attempted murder charge. The shooting was apparently the result of a drug deal gone wrong, court records state.
Andrew C. Morris, 22, appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court during which time he entered not-guilty pleas to first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and attempted second-degree murder.
Morris’ attorney, Angus Lee, said that his client turned himself in Wednesday as soon as he heard there were charges pending against him.
An updated condition for the victim, 18-year-old Devan Graham, who suffered gunshot wounds to the head, arm, leg and buttocks, was unavailable. However, a victim impact statement filed with the court in February indicates that he is no longer hospitalized.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Jan. 3, Vancouver police were called to a reported shooting at Southeast 104th Avenue and Southeast 10th Street, where they found both Morris and Graham suffering gunshot wounds. The men had exchanged gunfire during a drug transaction, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Morris told officers that Graham walked up to him on the street, asked for marijuana and then shot him in the leg. He said he returned fire, the affidavit states.
When further questioned, Morris changed his story, court records say. He denied having a firearm and said he didn’t know who shot Graham. But then Morris told police he was shot while wrestling with Graham. He said Graham must have had two firearms, because he noticed the second one on the ground, picked it up and shot him, court records say.
Graham couldn’t be interviewed until a couple of weeks later due to the severity of his injuries.
When questioned, Graham told police he had arranged to sell Xanax to an acquaintance, 18-year-old Lurdes Reyna. Graham said a friend, Derrick Goddard, met with Reyna at a Burgerville. Morris got into a vehicle with Reyna and an unidentified driver. Reyna and the driver would not let Goddard in the car, according to court documents.
Graham said that when he got into the car, Reyna told him they needed to stop at a bank to get money. They then drove into a nearby neighborhood, where they picked up Morris, the affidavit states.
They were talking about the transaction, Graham said, when Morris produced a firearm and held it to Graham’s head, demanding his belongings. Graham handed over the Xanax and reached into his backpack, where he had a handgun wrapped in a sweatshirt, with one round in the clip, court records say.
Graham said Morris must have heard him rack the slide to chamber the round, because Graham shot him in the arm. Graham pulled out his handgun and shot Morris as he exited the vehicle, he said. He dropped something as he fled, and Morris shot him in the buttocks as he picked it up. Another shot struck his head, according to court documents.
Reyna is facing a charge of first-degree robbery for her alleged involvement in the incident.
Both Morris and Reyna are scheduled for trial April 30. In the meantime, Morris is being held on $500,000 bail.
