A man accused in a 2017 Vancouver shooting and robbery was convicted Tuesday of several charges.
A Clark County Superior Court jury found Isaac Depre Frazier, 24, guilty of nine of 11 charges following a weeklong trial in Clark County Superior Court. He was convicted of assault and robbery, both in the first degree, of weapons charges, first-degree burglary and three counts of tampering with a witness.
Sentencing was set for Nov. 12.
Around 8:25 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2017, Vancouver police were called to a shooting at 4604 N.E. 132nd Place. The victim, Auston Dunn, suffered a single gunshot wound to his leg and scrotum, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
When police arrived, they saw a man, Jefferson Lopez, walking away from the residence. Lopez told police he went to the house with Frazier, and while inside, Frazier pulled out a handgun to rob Dunn of his marijuana and money, the affidavit said.
Lopez took Dunn’s 1-year-old son into a back bedroom before hearing a gunshot. He came out to find Dunn with a gunshot wound to his leg, the affidavit said.
In an interview at the hospital, Dunn told detectives that Lopez came to his house with Frazier, whom he only knew as “Ike.” Frazier pulled out two handguns from his waistband and held one in each hand. He then demanded Dunn’s marijuana and money, but Dunn refused, according to court documents.
Frazier struck Dunn twice on the side of his head, then shot him in his right leg, according to the affidavit. Frazier pointed one of the handguns at Dunn’s head and pulled the trigger several times, but it did not fire. He then went into Dunn’s bedroom and stole several items, including a watch and several knives and swords, the affidavit said.
Dunn’s girlfriend, Riley Wynn, was also home at the time of the shooting. She was in the garage smoking when she heard a disturbance inside.
Upon entering the house, Wynn saw Frazier with two handguns, one pointed at Dunn and the other at Lopez, according to court records. She went back to the garage to call 911 and heard gunshots.
Wynn entered the house again and found Dunn bleeding from his leg. Frazier took her cellphone, she said, and ordered her back to the garage, court documents state. Frazier fled the scene before police arrived.
He was identified while a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Vancouver patrol officers four weeks later. He was arrested without incident on a felony warrant and as a suspect in the shooting cases, according to a police news release.
On Jan. 21, jail deputies contacted Vancouver police detectives after several cell searches turned up notes in which Frazier asked three fellow inmates to intimidate Dunn and Wynn into not testifying in court, according to court records.
One of the handwritten notes recovered from the jail’s work center thanks an inmate for his help and says, in all capital letters, “They don’t show up to court, they can’t use their statements against me,” another affidavit of probable cause reads.
Papers found in all three of the inmates’ cells vary but include Dunn’s full name and address, the affidavit said. Two of the papers describe what Dunn looks like; another mentions his family.
“I’m just letting you know who this MF is so you know how to handle the situation,” the affidavit quotes Frazier as writing.
Frazier also instructed the recipients to toss the notes after they read them, a directive that apparently none of the men followed.
Detectives used a notebook found in Frazier’s cell to compare with the handwritten notes. They concluded the writing was similar, according to the affidavit.
Frazier faced a first-degree attempted murder charge when the trial began, but the charge was dismissed mid-trial. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said that the victim had died since Frazier was charged, so there was no victim testimony to support the allegations. Dunn’s death was unrelated to Frazier’s crimes, Vu said.
The jury found Frazier not guilty of a first-degree robbery charge tied to Dunn, but he was convicted of the same charge perpetrated against the second victim, Wynn. Jurors also decided Frazier was not guilty of two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, because they found he did not use a gun during a Nov. 28, 2017 break-in at Dunn’s home.
During closing arguments Monday, defense attorney Whitney Hawke conceded that prosecutors’ arguments for the witness tampering, and some of the unlawful possession of a firearm, charges were strong. But in challenging the assault, robbery and burglary charges, she cited specific legal language associated with the counts, arguing that Frazier should have been charged with lesser crimes.
For instance, sufficient evidence was not established in the first-degree robbery charge involving Dunn — for which Frazier was acquitted — Hawke said. The attorney said that it is unclear what, exactly, was stolen and that no one witnessed Frazier leave.
“This is not a case about innocent or guilty. This is not a case about right or wrong,” Hawke told jurors. “The question for you guys is, ‘What little box does this conduct fall under?’ ”
In his rebuttal, Vu told jurors that the criminal justice system can’t provide every potential piece of evidence in every case and that it wasn’t “a scientific, formulaic exercise.” He asked them to rely on their judgment, common sense and life experience.
“If (Frazier) took one penny, and everything else remained the same, that’s robbery,” Vu said.
For his part, Frazier was not present in the courtroom throughout the trial. He waived his right to be present, according to court documents.
Frazier was briefly brought into the courtroom prior to closing arguments Monday, accompanied by two Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputies, in a restraint chair. He recited sovereign citizen rhetoric and continued to do so as Judge Jennifer Snider attempted to speak.
“Greetings,” Frazier said to Snider before continuing the speech.
“I am not a slave of the state,” Frazier said. “I am sovereign.”
A defense attorney tried for a few moments to speak with Frazier, but he continued to speak about sovereign citizenship, arguing he was a corporation and could not be charged with a crime and the parties were holding fraudulent court proceedings.
Snider ruled Frazier was giving up his right to testify due to the continued outbursts. He was then wheeled to a separate location to observe the proceedings on video.
