18-time felon accused of opening fire on Kennewick van

Police are hunting for a 46-year-old man accused of shooting out the windows of a van on Bruneau Place midday Friday.

Paul McVay allegedly opened fire at 12:50 p.m. after arguing with someone in the passenger’s seat, Kennewick police said.

Witnesses reported McVay walked away before police arrived, said Officer Cory McGee.

No one was hit by the gunfire.

Officers searched the area for McVay, but couldn’t find him, said McGee. Anyone with information on McVay is asked to call 911.

McGee said McVay should be considered armed and dangerous. He was last wearing a blue hat, gray T-shirt and khaki-colored pants.

“We believe this to be an isolated incident and do not believe the public to be in any danger,” said a Kennewick police news release.

McVay was serving a 24-year prison term for a 2013 stabbing outside the Union Gospel Mission in Pasco before it was overturned by an appellate court.

A Franklin County jury found him innocent in March 2017 in an attack on Keyton R. Sykes. Witnesses claimed McVay used a pocketknife to stab the 21-year-old man in the left arm and chest.

It was his third trial for the stabbing. The first ended with a hung jury and the second with a guilty verdict that was overturned.

McVay has spent much of his adult life in and out of prison. He has 18 felony convictions, including identity theft, forgery, possession and delivery of drugs and gun possession.

This story was originally published September 28, 2018 at 2:26 PM.