VANCOUVER, Wash. — On Thursday, Clark County Judge John Fairgrieve ruled that the suspect in a deadly shooting at the Vancouver Mall will remain in jail for the immediate future, denying the defense's request for a bail amount.
Travis Ward made his first court appearance on Monday, after being arrested outside his Vancouver apartment over the weekend.
Ward is accused of shooting and killing 26-year-old James Perez inside the food court on the second level of the Vancouver Mall on Halloween night. Court documents say he walked into the mall with his girlfriend, his mom and small child and donned a Joker-style Halloween mask before killing Perez.
Police swarmed the Vancouver Mall on Halloween night after reports of a shooting in the second-floor food court during a family trick-or-treating event. They arrived to find one person dead and two others who had been injured in the hail of gunfire. Officers did not initially make any arrests.
According to the affidavit, police found a man lying on the floor of the food court, dead from "obvious gunshot wounds." The two other victims received glancing blows by either stray bullets or fragments, one to the left side of his torso and the other to his left foot. Both were treated at the hospital and soon released.
The police affidavit filed Monday identified the man killed in the shooting as James A. Perez, called "Jahar" by his family members. He was 26 years old. The medical examiner determined his cause of death was a homicide, caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
On Thursday, Ward appeared on a video link, facing a Clark County judge once again. Thursday's hearing was to decide on if Ward should receive bail, and if so, what amount.
Ward's defense told the court that he maintains his innocence and asked for a minimal bail amount to be set, citing a lack of violent criminal history and ties to the community.
"He's maintaining his innocence at this time, Your Honor. We would like to ask the court to release him on PR (personal recognizance); we know that's not going to happen, so we're trying to be realistic. So, we are asking the court to set a bail in this case," Ward's attorney said.
The county prosecutor laid out their case for denying bail and asking that Ward remain in jail until further notice.
"He's alleged to have shot Mr. Perez in the back of the head as Mr. Perez appeared distracted by his phone. He had been looking for his own autistic son at the time that he had become separated from in the mall, then repeatedly shot him in other areas of the body as he lay face down on the floor in the food court," the county prosecutor stated. "Beyond the murder and the assaults — which are in and one themselves horrific — these acts terrorized this community."
Judge Fairgrieve sided with prosecutors: "I do find by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has a propensity of violence that creates a substantial likelihood of danger to the community. I do find it's appropriate to hold him without bail pending resolution of this case."
Ward will be back in court Dec. 12 for his arraignment on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Police say it appears Ward targeted Perez but haven't said why he was shot and killed.