PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles police Wednesday booked the man suspected of fatally shooting his next-door neighbor in Port Angeles on June 20 after bringing him some 1,400 miles to the Clallam County jail.
Bobby J. Smith, 58, was arrested on a felony warrant for first-degree murder in Amarillo, Texas.
Port Angeles police said they had already confirmed that Smith shot 63-year-old Robert Fowler at 211 E. Vashon Ave.
Fowler lived next door to the house where the shooting occurred.
Smith was not charged immediately in the wake of the shooting, pending a laboratory examination of evidence collected from the scene.
Police were trying to determine whether Smith shot Fowler in self-defense. After the forensic investigation was complete, a warrant was issued for Smith on Sept. 23.
Port Angeles police learned that Smith had moved to Amarillo through their contacts with Texas law enforcement agencies.
A team of Texas Rangers served the warrant a few days after it was issued and brought Smith to the Potter County jail.
Port Angeles Police Detective Kori Malone and Officer John Nutter traveled to Texas on Sunday to gather more evidence and bring Smith back to the Peninsula.
They put Smith in handcuffs and escorted him on a commercial airline to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where he was loaded into an unmarked police vehicle and taken to the Clallam County jail.
“He waived extradition, which means he didn’t fight the process,” said Port Angeles Deputy Chief of Police Brian Smith.
“This had been in the works for a while. For the safety of the officers, we don’t advertise we’re doing this ahead of time.”
Deputy Chief Smith said Port Angeles police had “significant assistance” from the Texas Rangers, the Amarillo Police Department, the Potter County Sheriff’s Office, the Hockley County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol.
“We had a lot of help in Texas,” he said.
As for why it took nearly four months to arrest Bobby Smith, the deputy chief said: “There was evidence that had to be analyzed.
“We have to show probable cause.
“A case like this is an ongoing case.”
Bobby Smith will make his first appearance in Clallam County Superior Court today.
In the police certification for probable cause, Bobby Smith reported that he “had to kill” his neighbor, who came to his house demanding money.
In his statement to police, Bobby Smith said Fowler came over, picked up a knife that was on a living room table and threatened to cut Smith’s throat.
Bobby Smith said he feared for himself and his daughter, who was upstairs at the time, and shot Fowler multiple times with a .45-caliber pistol, court documents said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
