Man shot in Pasco home got in through garage door

A Hanford worker who was shot and killed in a west Pasco home early Friday morning got into the house through a roll-up garage door, according to Pasco police.

The incident, in which Travis Yeates was shot and killed, continues to be investigated. Homeowner Corey Chapman, who fired the fatal shot with a handgun, is cooperating with investigators, said Pasco police Capt. Ken Roske.

Chapman called 911 about 2:30 a.m. to report a man pounding on the front door at his home on Austin Drive just off Burden Boulevard.

As officers arrived Chapman told dispatchers that the man had gotten inside his home and officers heard a gunshot, according to police reports.

Chapman had not opened the door to Yeates, Roske said.

An autopsy conducted Saturday found that Yeates, 34, died of a single gunshot wound to his chest.

The investigation continues to focus on what Yeates was doing in the neighborhood and why he was at Chapman’s house. There was no car parked nearby that Yeates would have driven there, Roske said.

Police are waiting for a toxicology report from the autopsy, which should be available in a week to 10 days, to determine if Yeates was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Yeates reportedly had gone out drinking with coworkers at the end of his work week of four 10-hour shifts at the Hanford tank farms Thursday night. He had worked as a safety and health specialist at the tank farms since 2010.

After the police investigation is concluded, Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant is expected to determine whether the shooting was justified.

In February 2014 a similar shooting occurred in a nearby neighborhood and was determined to be justified.

An intoxicated man tried to get into a house, apparently mistaking it for a relative’s house that was around the corner. Stephan Aceves was dead inside the house when police arrived.

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Man shot in Pasco home got in through garage door."