Couple in Bremerton school shooting case faces judge

The mother of a boy involved in an elementary school
shooting was arrested in a Port Orchard courtroom on
Thursday.

Jamie Lee Chaffin, 34, who was led away in handcuffs, is
held on $50,000 bail because she’s a convicted felon and
due to outstanding warrants, according to the judge.

The mother’s boyfriend, Douglas Bauer, 50, has no prior
record and was not arrested.

Both are charged with unlawful possession
of a firearm and third-degree assault, a felony that could
send them to prison for up to five years.

Defense attorney Wayne Fricke calls the assault charges
“novel,” adding “I’ve already looked at the law and I
truly believe that whether it’s in the superior court or
the court of appeals that this case will not see a jury.”

But prosecutors say the pair is responsible for allowing a
9-year-old boy to get his hands on a gun that went off in
his backpack and seriously injured a classmate at Armin
Jahr Elementary school in Bremerton on Feb. 22.
The 8-year-old girl remains in the intensive care unit at
Harborview Medical Center.

Investigators believe the boy took Bauer’s .45-caliber
handgun from a car glove box when he was visiting his
mother and Bauer.

Police say the weapon accidentally discharged, sending a
single bullet through Amina Bowman’s right arm and into
her side. From there, the projectile passed through her
liver, gallbladder, and small intestine, before severing
her inferior vena cava, the large vein that drains blood
from the legs.

“It’s been a rocky time for her, she’s been in the ICU,
she just got off the ventilator over the weekend, which
was a huge step forward,” said Dr. Eileen Bulger, director
of emergency services at Harborview Medical Center.

Amina has undergone five surgeries, but is expected to be
taken out of the intensive care unit this week.

The boy has pleaded guilty in juvenile court to unlawful
possession of a firearm, bringing a weapon to school and
reckless endangerment. In exchange for the guilty plea, he
will was given probation and asked to testify against his
mother and her boyfriend.

The prosecutor’s office says Chaffin and Bauer are due
back in Kitsap County Superior Court on March 21 to enter
pleas. If found guilty of third-degree assault, the pair
could face up to five years in prison.

97.34 KIRO FM Reporters Tim Haeck and Brandi Kruse
contributed to this report.