By The Chronicle
Police arrested a suspect just after midnight Thursday in a non-fatal shooting in the 400 block of Southwest William Avenue in Chehalis.
Chan H. Oscar, 36, of Chehalis, was booked into the Lewis County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.
According to police, witnesses said Oscar was walking on the sidewalk at 8:30 p.m. on William Avenue when another 36-year-old Chehalis resident drove by him in a car. Oscar allegedly pulled out a gun and fired one round at the vehicle, striking the rear quarter panel.
The driver pulled the car over and got out. Oscar allegedly fired again, striking the victim in the hand. The victim also sustained a head injury. He was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Oscar and the victim are likely related, but the motive for the shooting is currently unknown, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
Oscar fled the scene of the shooting. Personnel from Chehalis police, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Centralia Police Department and the Washington State Patrol searched the area with the help of K-9 units, but did not immediately find Oscar.
Just after midnight, officers saw an SUV leave a residence where Oscar was known to frequent. They stopped the vehicle in the area of Southwest Pacific Avenue and Southwest 10th Street and found Oscar in the vehicle. Officers also recovered a handgun.
Lenard Carlile, 50, of Chehalis, a second occupant of the SUV, was arrested on suspicion of rendering criminal assistance.
Oscar was arrested in Chehalis in January 2007 on suspicion of disorderly conduct and obstruction after police responded to reports of a dispute with a handgun.
In April 2008, Oscar was arrested on suspicion of stabbing two people in a Centralia bar. He claimed his actions were in self-defense.
“I’m not a trouble maker; I don’t go around bumping people and starting trouble,” Chan said in a 2008 letter to The Chronicle.
Chan grew up in the Virgin Islands and moved to the area in 2007 to join his sister and cousins.
Oscar and Carlile are scheduled to appear in Lewis County Superior Court at 4 p.m. today.
