A Vancouver man is facing several assault charges after he allegedly stabbed multiple patrons of a La Center cardroom.
On Dec. 14, Scott Harmier, 41, made his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court. Harmier’s bail was set at $1.5 million. He is expected back in court on Dec. 28 for an arraignment.
Harmier faces four first-degree assault charges and one charge of attempting to elude. He was arrested shortly after midnight on Dec. 13 following a high-speed chase which ended in a crash on Northeast Padden Parkway, according to court documents.
Harmier had left the Last Frontier in La Center where he allegedly stabbed four people, according to probable cause affidavits for his arrest. Witnesses called 911 multiple times at about 11:45 p.m. on Dec. 12, alerting multiple police agencies that responded to the scene.
Surveillance video shown to law enforcement shows a man, who was later identified as Harmier, sitting at a poker table when he reaches down to grab something, the affidavit stated. The footage shows Harmier stabbing a man to his left five times.
Multiple patrons tried to stop Harmier, who swung at them, the affidavit stated. He then approached a woman who was sitting to his right and is seen trying to stab the woman three times in the video, according to the affidavit.
Harmier then chased a man out of the building while swinging at him, according to the affidavit. The victim fell to the ground and Harmier appeared to stab the man twice. “A large amount of blood” was in the parking lot where the victim was stabbed.
Harmier then reportedly walked “casually” to his vehicle and drove off, the affidavit stated.
One victim described the knife as four to five inches long with a folding blade. Victims had stab wounds to their arms and neck, according to an affidavit. Three of the four people taken to the hospital had stab wounds to their head.
All but one of the victims at the hospital were released by the morning of Dec. 13. One victim was admitted to the hospital because one of the wounds was close to an artery.
Harmier’s vehicle was later spotted traveling southbound on Interstate 5 by the Northeast 179th Street exit. Harmier passed a patrol vehicle and reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, stated the affidavit. He took the exit onto Interstate 205, the affidavit stated.
A sheriff’s deputy deployed spike strips on I-205 to stop Harmier, though the attempt was unsuccessful, according to the affidavit. Harmier pulled over on the left shoulder about a mile from the spike strip deployment for about 10 seconds before he made a u-turn through the interstate median, and traveled north, taking the Northeast Padden Parkway exit.
Sheriff’s deputies pursued Harmier eastbound on Padden Parkway for about three miles, reaching speeds of about 110 miles per hour, the affidavit stated. Harmier slowed down to about 60 miles per hour, at which time one of the sheriff’s deputies employed a vehicle maneuver to immobilize Harmier.
Harmier’s vehicle hit a guardrail on the north side of Padden Parkway a few blocks west of Northeast 137th Avenue, the affidavit stated. Harmier didn’t make an attempt to escape.
A deputy ordered Harmier to show his hands, but he instead lit a cigarette and started smoking, according to the affidavit. Another deputy got on the hood of Harmier’s vehicle, and didn’t see any weapons in the car or in Harmier’s hands through the windshield.
One of the deputies pulled Harmier out by his left arm, with no resistance from the suspect, the affidavit stated.
