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It was a tense scene this morning as dozens of people crowded into the courtroom for the arraignment of Mitchell Heng, the man accused in the Sifton Market homicide and arson last month.
There were two distinct groups — those for the victim, 47-year-old Amy Marie Hooser, and an even larger group for Heng. Court officials attempted to keep the groups separated and warned people to keep cool heads as some clashed with the media who were present.
Heng, 21, showed little emotion as he entered not-guilty pleas in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree murder, first-degree arson and first-degree robbery. His trial is set for March 13. In the meantime, he is being held on $2 million bail. His defense attorney, Matthew Hoff, said he may address the bail amount at a later date.
The case is not being charged as aggravated murder, which carries the possibility of the death penalty.
Based on the information so far from police reports and detectives, prosecutors are not certain they could prove the slaying was premeditated — a requirement for aggravated first-degree murder, said Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu, who leads the prosecuting attorney’s office’s major crimes unit. If at any point during the investigation the evidence supports the crime was premeditated, the prosecutor’s office will reassess the case, and if need be, amend the charges, he said in a phone interview.
Allegations made
According to court records, Heng was a frequent customer of the market at 13412 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., and told detectives he went there the morning of Jan. 15 to rob the clerk. Hooser, who was the store manager, was working.
Heng told detectives he followed her to the back of the store and robbed her, taking $80 and a carton of cigarettes. He then started the fire and fled, a probable cause affidavit in support of the charges states. Hooser’s body was found in the rubble of the market after a three-alarm fire destroyed the four-unit Sifton Plaza, which also housed a barber shop, pet supply store and pet grooming business.
Heng, a former Heritage High School student, was arrested days later at a relative’s apartment near the gutted strip mall.
He refused to tell investigators how Hooser was killed, the affidavit said. An autopsy found she died of blunt force trauma and smoke inhalation, and her death was ruled a homicide by the Clark County medical examiner.
Hooser, a Vancouver resident, was a mother of three daughters. She had attended Fort Vancouver High School and Washington State University, according to her Facebook page.
Market video surveillance recovered after the fire shows Hooser arrive at work at about 5:10 a.m. and begin preparing to open the store. Then a man, later identified as Heng, enters the store and appears to ask for a key. Hooser walks toward the rear of the store, and Heng follows her. She is not seen on the video footage again, the affidavit states.
Heng eventually returns to the camera’s view with a dark-colored stain on his shirt that appears to be blood, court records said. He then takes a carton of Marlboro cigarettes and sets it on the counter and is next seen carrying a lighter and coffee filters, which he appears to set on fire in the office area of the store, according to court documents.
Another market employee recognized him as a regular customer and said he frequents a nearby marijuana shop. An employee there identified the suspect as Heng, court records show.
After he was arrested, Heng was shown the store’s video footage and said, “That’s me,” the affidavit states.
This morning, Heng’s family and friends gathered in the ground floor lobby of the courthouse to catch another glimpse of him as he was escorted back to the jail. At one point, corrections deputies threatened to kick out people if they continued to be disruptive. Heng was taken out a back exit to avoid the crowd.