A Vancouver man was booked Tuesday into the Cowlitz County Jail in connection with the November fatal shooting of a 46-year-old Portland man in Ariel. Cowlitz 911 received a report shortly after 8 a.m. Nov. 11 of an unresponsive man on the ground near state Highway 503 at Milepost 42, according to a Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office news release. The sheriff’s office said a Washington State Patrol trooper arrived on scene and met with the caller, who had found the man on a logging road nearby. The man, identified as Cesar Reyes, was declared dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office responded to investigate the death due to the suspicious circumstances. Reyes died by a gunshot wound to the head.

Detectives established probable cause to arrest 45-year-old Joseph Klimas III of Vancouver on suspicion of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of firearm. With assistance from the Vancouver Police Department, Klimas was located in Vancouver and taken into custody, before being booked into the Cowlitz County Jail. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the shooting should contact Cowlitz Detective Kris Moore at 360-577-3092.