Bail set at $1.5M for man accused in Wash. casino stabbing
Dec 16, 2022, 6:16 AM | Updated: 7:18 am
The Last Frontier Casino is seen in La Center, Wash., Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. Four people were stabbed or slashed at a casino in Washington state in what witnesses described as a random, unprovoked attack late Monday night, the Clark County Sheriff's Office said. A suspect in the case was arrested early Tuesday, and all four victims were expected to survive. (Becca Robbins/Vancouver Columbian via AP)
(Becca Robbins/Vancouver Columbian via AP)
A judge has set bail at $1.5 million for a man accused of stabbing four people Monday night at a Washington casino and leading police on a high-speed chase.
Scott Harmier, 41, of Vancouver, Washington, appeared Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of four counts of first-degree assault and one count of attempting to elude police, The Columbian reported. Deputy Prosecutor Julie Carmena said Harmier has been convicted of assault numerous times.
It wasn’t immediately known if Harmier has a lawyer who could comment on his case.
Casino video showed a man seated at a poker table at The Last Frontier Casino in La Center before reaching down to grab something and then stabbing the man next to him and several others “without provocation or warning,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Court records do not indicate a motive.
Several people called 911 just before midnight, including a stabbing victim who said the assailant left in a Nissan sedan, according to a probable cause affidavit.
At a nearby hospital, Bradley Harrington told detectives he suffered a stab wound to his head, according to the affidavit, and he reported the weapon was a folding knife with a 4- to 5-inch (10-to 13-centimeter) blade. Another victim, identified as Virginia Rutty, suffered stab wounds to her forehead, chest and arm. Song Rang suffered stab wounds to her arm and neck, according to the affidavit.
All three were treated and released Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
The fourth victim, who detectives believe to be Guao Liao, was stabbed in his forehead and shoulder and had a large cut to his wrist. He was admitted to the hospital, the affidavit states.
Deputies located the Nissan shortly after the attack on Interstate 205, just south of the split with Interstate 5, traveling at about 100 mph (160 kph), according to court records.
Deputies used an “immobilization technique” to stop the car and then arrested Harmier, court records said. Investigators said they saw blood on Harmier’s hoodie and a knife sheath on the car’s passenger’s seat, according to the affidavit.
