BATTLE GROUND RESIDENT Brandon David Maulding, 36, was found outside this storage facility in Battle Ground after he was allegedly beaten with a baseball bat by Stephen M. Reichow, 33, also of Battle Ground. Maulding later died after being transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
BATTLE GROUND – Stephen M. Reichow, 33, of Battle Ground, made his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court Aug. 4.
Reichow is being charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly beating 36-year-old Brandon David Maulding, of Battle Ground, to death with a baseball bat the night of Aug. 1.
According to a news release from the city of Battle Ground, Battle Ground Police responded to a disturbance at approximately 11:50 p.m. on Aug. 1 in the area of Southeast Grace Avenue and Southeast 2nd Street, in the 200 block of Southeast Grace Avenue. Police then arrested Reichow and he was booked into the Clark County Jail.
According to documents from Clark County Superior Court, the reporting party and witness, Jacqueline Olson, told police she observed a male subject choking another male subject on the ground. Olson then stated she saw one of the involved parties (Reichow) walking north towards the skate park. She also stated that there was a male subject on the ground (Maulding) who was not moving and she observed that there was "blood everywhere."
When police officers arrived at the scene and found Reichow, they found that he had blood on his clothing, hands, face, legs, arms, feet and in his hair, according to court documents. One of the responding officers asked Reichow if he was hurt, to which he responded that he was not hurt, but "Brandon was." The officer then asked how Maulding was hurt and, according to the documents, Reichow said, "I killed him."
Officers then located a subject later identified as Maulding lying on the ground on the north side of Southeast 2nd Street, on the south side of the storage facility there. Maulding's head and face were covered in blood, and he was unconscious and breathing, according to the documents. A baseball bat was found less than a foot from Maulding's head; the bat appeared to have a large amount of blood on it, according to documents.
Maulding was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center where he later died at about 12:44 a.m. An autopsy showed Maulding's death was caused by blunt force injuries to his head, face and body.
Suspect interviewed
During an interview with police, Reichow stated that he had been hanging out with Maulding earlier in the day on Aug. 1. According to court documents, Reichow told police that he and Maulding had gone to the river that day and then back to Maulding's house. He said he and Maulding left Maulding's residence and were picked up by another friend, Anne Tanninen.
Reichow, Maulding and Tanninen drove to a storage facility that Tanninen rented. According to documents, the three were hanging out inside the facility when Tanninen received a strange phone call from somebody talking about a drug deal. Tanninen then told Reichow and Maulding that she was being "gang stalked." Reichow told police he then told Tanninen that he had been stalked and harassed for the last six years.
According to court documents, Reichow told police that they were exiting the storage facility out the back door and said that Maulding was in some "kind of altered state." Reichow said Maulding had been drinking alcohol and began hitting a baseball bat against the heel of his (Maulding's) foot. Reichow told police Maulding started saying "what's up boy" and that Maulding and Tanninen started cornering him.
Reichow stated, according to court documents, that Maulding kept saying "hay boy, hay boy" to him. Reichow claimed Tanninen then started accusing him of being part of the people who were stalking her and said Maulding was also accusing him of stalking Tanninen. Reichow told police that he was concerned that Maulding was going to harm him with the baseball bat, so he ran around the building and hid under an RV on the south side of the storage facility.
At that point, according to court documents, Reichow told police that Tanninen and Maulding came around the corner in Tanninen's white Ford Expedition, and that Maulding came out of the Expedition with a baseball bat and was "coming at me." Reichow told police Maulding grabbed and ripped his shirt, and Reichow then grabbed the bat away from Maulding by pulling the bat out of his hands and knocking him down. According to court documents, Reichow then invoked his rights at this time and stated, "at this point forward, I'll need an attorney."
Tanninen interviewed
Anne Tanninen was interviewed by law enforcement officers from the Clark County Sheriff's Office and the Battle Ground Police Department. According to court documents, she confirmed that she, Maulding and Reichow had gone to the storage facility to drop off some of her things. Tanninen told police that she picked up Reichow and Maulding at Maulding's residence earlier that day. She stated that when she picked up Reichow, he jumped into the back of her Expedition and jumped onto some of her personal belongings, which made her upset.
According to court documents, Tanninen told police that while at the storage facility she, Maulding and Reichow were talking about government, organized crime and gang stalking. She stated that she then received a phone call from a "Hispanic" subject demanding $5,000. Upon completion of the call, Tanninen, who claimed to believe Reichow was somehow associated with the phone call, confronted him. Tanninen, according to the documents, asked Reichow who he "really was" and for his identification. Maulding, according to Tanninen's account, participated in the confrontation, asking for his last name and who he was.
According to the court documents, at the time, Maulding was holding an aluminum bat that he retrieved from the storage unit. Tanninen told police that at the time Maulding was playing with the bat in a non-threatening manner. Tanninen stated that Reichow started to talk in a belligerent "scary manner." She told police she started "talking tough" and referred to a large orange ax handle that was in the storage facility, and she claimed Reichow then "looked scared."
Tanninen told police, according to the documents, that she told Reichow and Maulding to leave her storage facility, and the two men both left at the same time. Tanninen stated that she left the storage facility, retrieved her vehicle and started to drive away from the area. As she was driving away, she told police she heard the sound of an aluminum bat hitting the gravel. She stated that she then abandoned her vehicle in the parking lot of the storage facility and went to a nearby bar and contacted the owner.
Tanninen stated, according to documents, that she later showed up at the location of the assault and saw the aluminum bat found at the scene where Maulding's body was found. Tanninen told police this was not the bat Maulding was playing with inside the storage unit. According to documents, Detective Joe Swenson of the Clark County Sheriff's Office recovered evidence from the south side of 800 SE 2nd St., including a metal baseball bat with reddish stains consistent with blood, apparent bone fragment and other tissue.
According to court documents, the reporting parties called police after they witnessed Reichow on top of Maulding with his hands around Maulding's neck, choking him. The two reporting parties, who were driving in a car together past the location of the assault, stated that Maulding was not moving and his arms were down at his sides while Reichow was pulling Maulding up and down off the ground. The witnesses saw Reichow walk away and that's when they called the police.
Reichow is set to be arraigned on Aug. 13. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
