Fight about a ‘beautiful woman’ ended with gunfire outside a Kennewick bar
What started as a man talking to a “beautiful woman” inside a downtown Kennewick bar turned into a violent confrontation outside.
Victor B. W. Clarke, 23, of Richland, is accused of firing two or three shots at a man outside the Sports Page Bar & Grill shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, police said.
The victim told investigators he had been in the bar earlier that night when he began talking to Clarke’s girlfriend after she rubbed against him, according to court documents.
After the man told the girlfriend that she was beautiful and that her boyfriend was “stupid,” Clarke tried to “jump” him in the bar. However, he told officers there wasn’t a physical confrontation or any threats at that point.
But the situation escalated after the man walked outside when the bar was closing. The man claimed Clarke confronted him on Cascade Street between First Avenue and Kennewick Avenue.
Clarke said he was from Texas and yelled for someone to get the gun from his car.
The victim started running north on Cascade Street and then west on Kennewick Avenue when he heard two shots.
A witness in the alley saw the men arguing and then saw a man she later identified as Clarke go to a BMW, get something from his car and run back toward the other man firing shots.
Clarke then ran back to the car, got in and shouted, “Go. Go. Go.”
The victim called 911 minutes after the shooting to report that he hadn’t been hit, and that he was hiding in the bushes.
When police arrived they found the victim unhurt and discovered three spent shell casings at the scene.
‘Warning shots’
Police tracked the car to Clarke’s Richland home and spotted the gun inside of the vehicle.
Clarke came out of the house as police were collecting the vehicle as evidence.
He told police the other man had threatened them with a knife after they walked out of bar, and Clarke went to his car to get the gun because he felt threatened, said court documents.
He said he fired when the other man started to turn to walk or run away, and fired a second time when the man was running.
Even though he had the gun pointed at the other man, he said they were “warning shots” and he didn’t intend to hurt the other man.
Clarke was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.