A Port Orchard man was sentenced to about five years in prison for shooting into a parked car and apartment unit in February 2022 near Vancouver Mall. Justin W. Askren, 47, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court to possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and aiming or discharging a firearm. He was originally charged with drive-by shooting, court records show. Askren apologized Wednesday for his actions and said he was remorseful. Defense attorney Phillip Ard said the evidence was still unclear about what exactly happened, but the shooting appeared to have resulted from a drug deal gone wrong. Vancouver police responded about midnight Feb. 8, 2022, to an apartment complex at 7609 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive for reports of gunshots. Officers found four bullet holes in the front of a parked car and another bullet hole in the door of an apartment unit, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Police department spokeswoman Kim Kapp previously said multiple callers had reported an argument in an apartment unit. A woman told police she lived in the unit that was hit by bullets and she owns the car that was shot, court records state, but police said she wasn’t cooperative. A witness described the shooter to officers and the pickup the man was driving. Officers later pulled over a truck matching the witness’s description and found a handgun in the backseat, according to the affidavit. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino said officers also found nearly a half-pound of methamphetamine in the truck, along with spent shell casings matching those found at the scene of the shooting. The witness said they were 99 percent certain the man driving the truck, identified as Askren, was the shooter. Askren had previous felony convictions and was prohibited from having a firearm, court records state.