PRESS RELEASE
A23-8897 SHOOTING INVESTIGATION
At about 1631 hours of April 27, 2023, Cowlitz 911 received a report that a male subject had been shot near Riverside Park, 1812 West Side Hwy, Kelso. Deputies and detectives with the Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Kelso Police Department, responded to the scene and quickly located a male subject near this location with a pistol. The subject was taken into custody; he acknowledged that he had fired a shot at two subjects that were assaulting him.
Deputies then located a vehicle related to the incident near Rainbow Way and West Side Hwy, with the shooting victim among the occupants. The wounded subject was transported to SJMC for treatment of minor injuries. The Sheriff’s Office closed West Side Hwy for about an hour to ensure all involved parties were accounted for, and to process both scenes for evidence.
Deputies interviewed multiple witnesses and obtained video of the altercation. Deputies learned that a man and a woman were sitting in their vehicle, in the driveway of their residence in the 1800 block of West Side Hwy when they were approached by multiple subjects. Two men, identified as Asa McVay Keith Kelly, age 21, of Longview, and Kamrin Alexander Kerr, age 19, of Longview, entered the driveway and confronted the male subject who was in the vehicle. Kelly and Kerr were seen opening the man’s door, as Kelly struck the male several times.
The vehicle occupants stated Kelly accused the male in the driver’s seat of being in a rival gang. As the male was being assaulted, he drew a pistol, exited the vehicle, and fired one shot, striking Kerr. The male resident stated he fired in self-defense. The subjects involved in the assault fled the scene in the vehicle that was later located near Rainbow Way. Based on witness statements and video corroborating the male resident’s statement, he was interviewed and released without charges.
Asa Kelly and Kamrin Kerr were booked into Cowlitz County Jail on charges of Assault 4th Degree and Criminal Trespass 2nd Degree.