A man shot by a Vancouver police officer early on Thanksgiving made his first appearance in court Monday.
Demarcus D. Roundtree, 31, is being held on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, criminal impersonation and driving with a suspended license. He is also being held as a fugitive from justice, according to court documents, in an identity theft case out of Multnomah County, Ore.
A Vancouver police officer — identified Monday as Officer Christopher Bohatch, 34 — shot Roundtree early Thursday morning, after an officer pulled over a suspected stolen vehicle near the East Fourth Plain Boulevard ramp on southbound Interstate 5.
The Vancouver Police Department has not released further details of what happened but said Roundtree was shot and fled in the vehicle.
The car was found abandoned near the intersection of East Fourth Plain Boulevard and E Street, and Roundtree was found soon after in a parked vehicle in the 400 block of East Fourth Plain Boulevard, according to the police.
Roundtree was not seriously hurt, police said, and was treated and released from a hospital before he was booked into the Clark County Jail.
Bohatch was not hurt, and was placed on leave while the Regional Major Crimes team investigated the shooting, according to the police.
Bohatch has been with the department since August 2016, according to the police.
According to a probable cause declaration filed with court records, officers got word of a stolen vehicle around 1:40 a.m. Thursday, after a resident reported waking to find his car was gone.
Bohatch found Roundtree and the stolen car, a Honda Accord, soon after, and Roundtree fled, according to court documents.
When officers found the stolen Honda, they found what appeared to be “shave keys” inside, which are used to steal vehicles.
A police dog found Roundtree hiding in another, unoccupied vehicle nearby, according to court records.
When officers spoke to him, he gave a false name, according to court records. Officers learned he might be using an alias, and when confronted about it, he gave his real name, saying he was on parole out of Oregon.
Roundtree also apologized to detectives for running, according to court records.
Andy
