Who is Wayne Harold Mahar? Washington man fatally shoots neighbor in his driveway, calls him 'a*****e' who deserves to die
BLAINE, WASHINGTON: An elderly Washington state neighbor is facing first-degree murder charges after he reportedly opened fire with a shotgun from his porch last Wednesday afternoon, October 4, and killed a man who was later found face-down in his own driveway.
According to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Wayne Harold Mahar, Sr, 76, called the victim an “a*****e” who deserved to be dead. The victim has been identified as Vincent Reames, 67, who was fatally shot outside of his home in Blaine.
What did the sheriff's office say?
“Upon arrival, deputies detained Mr Mahar without incident. Deputies located the victim lying face down in his driveway and immediately began CPR. Those efforts were unsuccessful,” the sheriff’s office said.
An emergency caller identified Mahar as the gunman and said the defendant confessed to claiming the life of Reames after the victim made too much noise, authorities said.
“WCSO Detectives found that Mr Mahar had threatened to kill the victim because he was throwing rocks at his house and making too much noise. A neighbor of Mr Mahar, who reported the shooting to 911, came outside after hearing the shot and witnessed Mr Mahar standing on his front porch holding a gun,” investigators said.
“She noticed the victim lying face down on the ground in front of his residence. She asked Mr Mahar if he had shot the victim. He replied, ‘Yeah.'”
Mahar said Reames was an 'a*****e’ who deserved to be dead
After he allegedly agreed to be interviewed by the deputies, Mahar said Reames was an “‘a*****e’ who deserved to be dead.” Local NBC affiliate KING 5 reported that Mahar had a blood alcohol level of .189 several hours after the shooting.
The Bellingham Herald reported that the suspect, who allegedly identified himself as a former cop and Vietnam veteran, complained about noise in November last year and told responding authorities he “wished he could just kill” Reames.
And now, just after a year, Reames was shot to death in his own driveway in front of his trailer. The victim was shot in the chest from around 30 feet away the day after the defendant allegedly made threats to kill him.
“Upon arrival, the deputies and officers used their training and experience to safely detain the suspect without incident,” Whatcom County Undersheriff Doug Chadwick said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim and those that were impacted by this traumatic event," Chadwick said.
According to Whatcom County Jail records, Mahar was booked after 9 pm on the day of the shooting. His bail was set at $2,000,000.