A man who kidnapped and shot at a homeless man after ambushing him, his spouse and their dog inside their vehicle was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison.
Paul R. Woodman, 48, no address provided, pleaded guilty Thursday in Clark County Superior Court to second-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault and harassment-death threats in connection with the April 1 incident.
A co-defendant in the case, John Wayne Maxwell, 38, of Vancouver, is set to change his plea Oct. 12.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Vancouver police were dispatched at about 11:30 a.m. to the 6000 block of Northeast St. Johns Boulevard for a reported kidnapping. The reporting person, Jennifer Talbot, said that two men — one armed with a handgun — had kidnapped her husband, Mark Hayes-Hanley. The armed assailant threatened to shoot her husband and the couple’s dog if she called police.
Hours later, Hayes-Hanley returned to the area from where he was kidnapped and was picked up by police. He was uninjured, the affidavit says. He told police he was sleeping in his parked car and awoke to two men, later identified as Woodman and Maxwell, standing on each side of the couple’s car.
Maxwell reportedly escorted Hayes-Hanley from his car while Woodman pointed a handgun at the couple. Hayes-Hanley was then forced into the bed of the assailants’ pickup and was driven to a barn in the 10300 block of Northeast 119th Street, court documents state.
There, he was ordered to get on his knees, he said, and Maxwell held a handgun to Hayes-Hanley’s head and then forced the firearm into his mouth. Hayes-Hanley said he closed his eyes before hearing a loud explosion near his right ear. Woodman knocked him to the ground and instructed him to leave the area, according to the affidavit.
Hayes-Hanley ran away, he said, and walked back to his car to make sure Talbot was safe.
Surveillance video at the scene of the kidnapping captured the incident.
Police later located a single shell casing from the second location, as well as a shotgun and percussion cap revolver, and Woodman’s state identification, according to court documents.
As part of his sentence, Woodman will also serve 18 months of community custody and is not to have contact with the victims, court records show.
