A man who brandished a shotgun in a Vancouver parking lot in 2017 was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail but was given credit for time served.
Tyrel J. Griggs, 24, of Vancouver pleaded guilty in December to third-degree assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief with a deadly weapon. In exchange for his cooperation against co-defendant Jordan R. Taylor, 24, of Vancouver, Griggs reached a plea deal with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which recommended the one-year sentence. The credit for time served means he has completed that sentence.
Vancouver police responded around 9:40 p.m. Nov. 7, 2017, to a report of a weapons disturbance in a parking lot on the south side of 13707 N.E. 28th St. A caller reported that two men — one armed with a handgun and the other with a shotgun — were fighting with an unarmed man, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The victims were later identified as a group of five people.
A witness told police he was sitting in the parking lot when a white car, later identified as a 2004 Toyota Camry, stopped by his vehicle. The driver, later identified by police as Taylor, left the car, pulled a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at the group, and the passenger, Griggs, also left the car and grabbed a shotgun from the trunk, the affidavit said.
Griggs racked the pump action and pointed the shotgun at the victims, while Taylor “cocked” the handgun, according to the affidavit.
“We’re going to waste you all,” the two men said, according to the affidavit. No shots were fired before the assailants entered their car and left the area, the affidavit said.
After identifying them, police served a search warrant and interviewed Griggs and Taylor at their residence in the 12600 block of Northeast 41st Street, according to the affidavit. Griggs was in possession of a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun, and the Mossberg .410-gauge shotgun was found in the Toyota Camry, the affidavit said.
In separate interviews, the men admitted to being involved in the parking lot confrontation, according to the affidavit. Griggs said the shotgun was unloaded at the time of the incident, the affidavit said.
“Neither could provide a reasonable explanation to justify their actions,” the affidavit reads.
After agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, Griggs admitted to being the most aggressive party, Deputy Prosecutor Deb Wechselblatt said.
“He took substantial responsibility for the events of that night,” Wechselblatt said of Griggs, who appeared at Thursday’s sentencing hearing out of custody. “We did want to recognize that there, maybe, should be some parity.”
Taylor pleaded guilty in January to unlawful display of a weapon and was sentenced to nearly a year in jail. However, all but two days of his sentence were suspended, and he was given credit for time served.
Jack Heffernan: 360-735-4541; jack.heffernan@columbian.com; Twitter: twitter.com/JackTHeffernan
