PORT ANGELES — Law enforcement personnel have stopped their aerial and ground search west of Port Angeles for a man they believe was involved in a fight Thursday in which a shot was fired, Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said this morning.
Mario W. Hackney, 45, of Port Angeles, who is believed to be armed and dangerous, fled on foot after an 11 a.m. altercation in front of a residence at 270 Cameron Road, authorities said.
A search of the Cameron Road area west of Port Angeles that was conducted by several North Olympic Peninsula law enforcement agencies, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter and canine trackers was stopped at 8 p.m. Thursday, Smith said.
“We’re not in active search mode like yesterday,” Smith said.
A shotgun that authorities believe was fired during the fight missed the man allegedly involved in the fight, but the weapon has not been recovered, he said.
The man was not seriously injured in the fight, Smith said.
“The actual investigation into the felonious assault, the [Clallam County] Sheriff’s Department has the lead on that,” Smith said.
An arrest warrant for Hackney had not been issued as of 9:45 a.m., a Superior Court spokeswoman said.
Smith referred queries about the investigation to county Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron, who was unavailable for comment.
Earlier report:
PORT ANGELES — Police and deputies are continuing to search for an armed man involved in a fight during which a shot was fired from a shotgun.
Law enforcement officers are looking for 45-year-old Mario Wayne Hackney of Port Angeles, who fled on foot at about 11 a.m. Thursday after shooting at another man in front of a residence at 270 Cameron Road, Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said.
Smith said the shot missed. He said a man, who was not identified, appeared to have been cut in a fight with Hackney during which Hackney fired a gun.
The man was treated at the scene by emergency personnel, Smith said.
The address on Cameron Road is south of U.S. Highway 101 and west of the interchange with Tumwater Truck Route, about a mile from the address listed for Hackney’s home on Highway 101.
By mid-afternoon Thursday, law enforcement personnel had concentrated their search efforts to a roughly rectangular area just south of William R. Fairchild International Airport and across from U.S. Highway 101.
The search area stretched from Bean Road to Reddick Road to Edgewood Road to Highway 101. The search continued overnight.
Hackney is white. He stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds, Smith said.
He initially was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. He has several tattoos on both arms and his chest.
Hackney “should be considered armed and dangerous,” Smith said, adding that authorities did not know if Hackney was armed with the shotgun or another gun.
The search area would consist of “where the leads take us,” Smith added.
Port Angeles residents “should expect to see a law enforcement presence in the air, things they don’t normally see,” he said.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter was aiding in the search.
Also assisting were law enforcement officers with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, State Patrol, Sequim police, Border Patrol and Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.
A car associated with Hackney was left at the scene of the shooting, Smith said.
Hackney’s criminal record includes convictions for identity theft, second-degree burglary and first-degree theft, according to court documents.
He pleaded not guilty Aug. 24 in Clallam County Superior Court to residential burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree possession of stolen property, and was released on $5,000 bail.
On Aug. 31, county Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ann Lundwall made Hackney a plea offer of 97 to 128 months. No response had been filed by this week.
A status hearing is set for Thursday, and a two-day trial is set for Nov. 5.
During the search for Hackney, authorities set up a command post in the parking lot of H & R Parts & Equipment at the intersection of Cameron Road and U.S. Highway 101.
More than a dozen law enforcement vehicles were gathered there Thursday morning.
Tom Shook, owner of H & R Parts & Equipment, said a man came into the store at about 10:30 a.m. that day and told Shook to call 9-1-1 because he had been shot.
Shook reported that the man’s hand appeared to be bloody.
“I know I was a little afraid that [the alleged shooter] was still after him, but he never did come looking for him,” Shook said.
Smith said the wound appeared to be a laceration, not a gunshot wound.
Shook, a Sequim resident, said he had never heard of anything like this happening before along Cameron Road.
“I’ve been here 32 years, and I’ve never had this much excitement,” Shook said.
The stretch of Cameron Road just south of Shook’s store was blocked off that morning with police tape and at least two Clallam County sheriff’s patrol cars.
At least two individuals trying to reach their homes were turned away by law enforcement because of the search.
Shook said the land south of his shop where police were searching is mostly wooded, with four or five homes.
Anyone who sees Hackney should not approach him but should phone 9-1-1, Smith said.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
