A judge has set bail at $500,000 for a 16-year-old Vancouver boy accused of shooting another teenage boy during a fight at a carnival Thursday night in central Vancouver.
Juan A. Sanchez-Pulido appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of two counts of first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Judge Christine Hayes ordered Sanchez-Pulido be prohibited from possessing firearms. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 16.
In deciding bail, Hayes said she considered Sanchez-Pulido’s age but also that the alleged shooting happened while he was on release from the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center for pending criminal charges that include firearm possession.
Vancouver police responded about 9:15 p.m. to the carnival at the Vancouver Plaza parking lot, 7809 N.E. Vancouver Plaza Drive, for a large disturbance where at least one person was shot, a probable cause affidavit states.
Two groups of juveniles started fighting, and one teen — later identified by police as Sanchez-Pulido — fired a gun, striking another 16-year-old boy. Police found several live 9 mm rounds and a single spent 9 mm casing at the scene, court records show.
Sanchez-Pulido ran from the scene before police arrived. A witness drove the victim to a hospital, according to the affidavit.
Officers interviewed the victim and 17-year-old witness at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. Police also took a statement from a 16-year-old witness, court records state.
The teens told police they were at Vancouver Plaza when the fight broke out but that they were not involved. Then, Sanchez-Pulido confronted the 16-year-old witness, accusing him of stealing from him. Sanchez-Pulido then fired a gun, striking the other boy, according to court records.
A Vancouver Police Department news release states that the victim was shot in the stomach. Authorities did not identify the victim but said his wound was not life-threatening.
A video of the initial confrontation was recorded, including a snapshot of Sanchez-Pulido, court records show.
Court records state that an officer contacted Sanchez-Pulido’s brother near Northeast Lewis Drive and Thurston Way. The brother confirmed Sanchez-Pulido’s identity, and police ran Sanchez-Pulido’s information in the report system to find that he matched the associated photographs.
A police K-9 track determined that Sanchez-Pulido had left the area in a silver SUV. The boy’s mom told police her son was at home and that she was the one who had picked him up, according to court records.
Detectives contacted Sanchez-Pulido outside of his home and took him into custody. Sanchez-Pulido told police that injuries on his arms were from a fight, according to the affidavit.
