DIAMOND POINT — A minivan associated with a man wanted in a shooting just west of Port Angeles earlier this week has turned up in east Clallam County, although the wanted fugitive is still at large and may have changed his appearance, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.
The white Nissan Quest van was found Sunday morning at a home in Diamond Point, an unincorporated community between Blyn and Gardiner at the eastern end of the county, far from the scene of the alleged shooting near Clallam County’s airport Thursday.
The van was known to have been used by Mario W. Hackney, 45, of Port Angeles, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s officials said they were told by witnesses that Hackney had stayed at the home in Diamond Point on Saturday.
“They were people who knew him,” said Undersheriff Ron Peregrin.
It was not known if the minivan was left behind because Hackney had fled on foot or whether he had changed to another vehicle, Peregrin said.
The sheriff’s office also said it had received information indicating that Hackney may be wearing some kind of disguise.
No description of the disguise has been released.
Hackney is wanted on a probable-cause arrest warrant for attempted murder.
The warrant was issued Friday, and Hackney remained at large throughout the weekend.
The sheriff’s office has advised anyone who sees Hackney to call 9-1-1 and do not approach him.
The episode began Thursday morning, the sheriff’s office said, at a home in the 200 block of Cameron Road when a man stopped to pick up a woman, and the woman refused to get in the car and began screaming at him to leave.
Neither the man nor the woman involved has been identified by law enforcement.
Hackney, who was described as a friend of the woman, allegedly stepped out from behind a shed and pointed a shotgun at the man, who got in a pickup truck about 35 feet away.
The driver ducked and was not hit, but the blast hit the side of the pickup, which went backward down a hill, spun around and crashed into a ditch, according to the report.
The driver injured his hands while running from the scene, authorities said.
Hackney also fled the scene, triggering the manhunt.
“All of our deputies continue to search [for Hackney], in addition to their usual duties,” said Lorraine Shore, community policing services coordinator for Clallam County.
“Everyone in the county is looking for him,” she added.
It is possible that Hackney could leave the county, but he is thought to have remained in the area, officials said.
Hackney is a Port Angeles local and has few connections outside of the county, Peregrin said.
Law enforcement in nearby counties have been notified of the warrant for Hackney, and Clallam County law enforcement will continue to check with Hackney’s friends.
“We will continue to put on the pressure,” Peregrin said, adding that law enforcement has a list of addresses where Hackney has been known to be and will issue alerts for county residents to be on the lookout for him.
“The more people there are who are looking for him, the more complicated his life will be. The best possible outcome is if he turns himself in,” Peregrin said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
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PREVIOUS STORY
By PAUL GOTTLIEB
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — Authorities say it was a simmering feud over a woman that turned into gunfire.
A probable-cause arrest warrant for attempted murder was issued last week for Mario Hackney, a 45-year-old Port Angeles man who remained at large Saturday after a multi-agency manhunt for him Thursday.
Hackney fled on foot late Thursday morning after allegedly firing a shotgun at a man who was trying to race away in his pickup truck.
The man was not injured in the blast in front of a residence in the 200 block of Cameron road west of Port Angeles but hurt his hands after falling on the road while he fled the scene, authorities said.
“It was basically over a girl,” Sheriff’s Office Detective Sgt. Lyman Moores said Friday.
Law enforcement officers with several agencies — including the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, State Patrol, Sequim police and Lower Elwha Klallam tribe — aided by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter, as well as canine trackers, searched the area of Cameron Road south of U.S. Highway 101 on Thursday.
Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said Friday that a warrant was issued Thursday by the Sheriff’s Office.
The aerial and ground search was suspended at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Deputies continued to concentrate Friday on the same area, where they believe Hackney may still be hiding, Cameron said.
“Every police officer knows we are focusing on where he lives,” Cameron said.
“People that are on patrol are looking for him.”
Moores said no search was underway Saturday.
Hackney, who is white, stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds.
He has several tattoos on both arms and his chest.
The man who was shot, Hackney and a woman were all outside the Cameron Road residence when the incident occurred, though none of them lived there, Moores said.
Hackney lives about a mile away.
“The heart of the issue was a female,” Moores said.
Moores gave this account of what allegedly happened:
The woman came out of the house when the man arrived to pick her up.
She came out of the house screaming at him to leave.
He was standing beside the truck when Hackney stepped from behind a shed on the property and pointed a shotgun at him.
The woman knew Hackney was on the premises and the two were friends — “very much so,” Moores said.
The man jumped back in the truck and was attempting to back up when he saw Hackney raise the shotgun higher and point it at him.
The man ducked down across the seat to avoid being hit with the blast when the shotgun went off, spraying the side of the truck but not hitting the driver.
Hackney was about 35 feet away when he allegedly fired the shotgun.
The truck went backward down a hill, spun around and crashed into a ditch.
“He bailed out of the truck and started running,” Moores said.
The man fell on the road, severely skinning his hand.
He was treated by emergency medical personnel and released.
The shotgun has not been recovered, Moores 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 county Superior Court to residential burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree possession of stolen property.
Hackney was released on $5,000 bail.
A status hearing on the charges is Thursday, with a two-day trial scheduled for Nov. 5.
Hackney “should be considered armed and dangerous,” Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith has said, adding that authorities did not know if Hackney was armed with the shotgun or another gun.
If seen, he should not be approached, but 9-1-1 should be called, Smith said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz contributed to this report.
