Bail set for Yakima man accused of threatening to ‘shoot up’ Yakima Valley College

YAKIMA – A prosecutor said the man accused of threatening to “shoot up” the Yakima Valley College campus could face more charges than resisting arrest and illegally having a gun.

“The state anticipates those are going to be the least that will be filed,” Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney David Soukup said during the 35-year-old man’s preliminary appearance hearing in Yakima County Superior Court.

But a defense attorney questioned the whole premise for arresting the man after a police officer saw him go the other way when he spotted the officer near campus.

The Yakima Herald-Republic typically does not publish the names of criminal suspects before they are formally charged.

Monday’s incident began with a 911 call shortly before 7:15 a.m. where dispatchers heard a man and woman arguing in the background, and the man was heard saying “someone is going to shoot up the college,” and that he had a gun, according to a probable cause affidavit. The line went dead after that, the affidavit said.

Dispatchers were able to identify the area where the phone call came from, and identify the suspect, noting that there were prior warnings for officer safety, such as threats to commit “suicide by cop,” the affidavit said.

Police advised YVC’s security department. School was not in session at the time, the affidavit said.

YVC sent out an email to students advising them about the situation.

An officer responding to the area where the call originated spotted the suspect in the 1100 block of Hamm Avenue, within a block of the campus, and he tried to get away from police. In the affidavit, the officer said that gave him reasonable suspicion that he was the suspect they were looking for.

Officers eventually found him in the 1100 block of South 11th Avenue crouched down in a driveway, the affidavit said.

Officers used a stun gun on the suspect after he refused to comply with orders to get on the ground. Officers found a loaded pistol magazine in a backyard near where the suspect was arrested, and a Yakima County sheriff’s patrol dog was used to trace the suspect’s steps, the affidavit said.

Between the dog search and video from a nearby home, police found a Kel-Tec .32-caliber pistol with a bullet in the chamber hidden in a food dish outside a house.

The suspect was booked into the Yakima County jail on suspicion of first-degree unlawful firearms possession, resisting arrest and obstructing police. He has six prior felony convictions including second-degree assault and second-degree burglary and a warrant from the Department of Corrections for escaping community custody.

But defense attorney Beth Wehrkamp said at the preliminary appearance hearing that the justification for arresting him was based on “a hunch.” She said the dispatcher heard a person on the phone saying “someone” was going to shoot up the school.

The fact that the suspect went the opposite way when he saw police did not constitute reasonable suspicion on the shooting incident as he also had a warrant for his arrest.

“In my experience, anyone who has a warrant like (the suspect), is going to retreat,” Wehrkamp said.

Citing the suspect’s criminal history, Soukup asked for $1 million bail, which Wehrkamp disagreed with, recommending $5,000 based on the warrant.

Judge Richard Bartheld said there was sufficient evidence to justify the suspect’s arrest and that his actions were inconsistent for someone under supervision. He set bail at $100,000.

Reach Donald W. Meyers at dmeyers@yakimaherald.com.