Garfield shooting suspect pleads not guilty

GARFIELD — Travis Gaines, 20, pled not guilty in Whitman County Superior Court on Friday, Dec. 8, for firing gunshots at a party in Garfield on Sunday, Nov. 5.

According to reports, Gaines was charged with two counts of assault in the first degree, three counts of reckless endangerment, three counts of aiming and discharging a firearm and one count of concealed pistol violation.

During the early morning of Sunday, Nov. 5, reports say Gaines allegedly fired three shots with a handgun inside an apartment located on West California Street.

Gaines fled to Walla Walla, where he was arrested and booked into Whitman County jail.

Town Marshal Joe Handley reported that Gaines can be seen, in video footage obtained by the apartment manager Shon Clark, walking off-screen and then appearing back on screen with a black semi-auto handgun from his waistband.

He reportedly put the gun to the side, racking it back, before raising the handgun and firing three rounds into a covered awning in the area of West California Street.

In the footage, Gaines then briefly points the gun at a crowd of people before pointing it to the chest of Jim Clark, of Garfield.

Handley reported three bullet holes in the ceiling of the apartment, and 9mm shell casings, reports say.

“Shon walks me over to where the bullet holes were in the ceiling,” said Handley, “based on my training and experience, I believed the holes to be from a pistol.”