Blaine man accused of killing his neighbor fired a shotgun from his porch, court documents state
A 76-year-old Blaine man is accused of using a shotgun from his porch to shoot and kill his neighbor, whom he had previously repeatedly threatened, while the neighbor was standing in his own driveway.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office arrested Wayne Harold Mahar Sr. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, on suspicion of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of 67-year-old Vincent Reames, of Blaine. Formal charges were expected to be filed in Whatcom County Superior Court against Mahar on Monday, Oct. 9.
The Bellingham Herald has reached out to the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office for the time, cause and manner of death for Reames, who was killed on Oct. 4.
Mahar is currently incarcerated in the Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail, which was set at his first court appearance on Thursday.
If Mahar is released from custody, he will not be allowed to possess weapons or consume any intoxicants, The Herald previously reported.
His arraignment is set for Friday, Oct. 13.
The shooting
At around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, Whatcom sheriff’s deputies were called to the Maple Leaf Mobile Home Park in the 4600 block of East Street in Blaine for a report of a shooting.
A 911 caller reported that Mahar had shot his neighbor, later identified as Reames, with a shotgun. The caller said Reames was face down on the ground and wasn’t moving, according to court records.
Mahar was last seen going into his trailer, so a sheriff’s deputy called Mahar’s wife. The deputy had spoken with Mahar’s wife earlier in the day for an unrelated issue, according to court records and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater.
Mahar’s wife told the deputy she took the shotgun away from Mahar and agreed to come outside onto the front porch with him. Mahar was then arrested without incident.
Reames, who was lying outside on the ground in front of his trailer, was determined to be dead, the court records state.
Neighbor interviews
In an interview with detectives, Mahar’s wife said she had arrived home just prior to the shooting. She said she did not witness the shooting, but Mahar told her that Reames had come onto the Mahars’ porch and threatened to kill him, according to court records.
Mahar allegedly told his wife that he shot Reames in self-defense, court documents state.
Mahar’s wife told detectives that Mahar kept a shotgun in the kitchen. but kept the ammunition in a bandolier hanging in their bedroom.
She told the detective that Reames was “crazy” and had been harassing and threatening them for several years, the records state.
Detectives also spoke with several neighbors of the Mahars’.
One woman told detectives she had spoken with Mahar the day prior to the shooting. Mahar was upset that their landlord had raised their rent, and he threatened to shoot the landlord’s girlfriend during the conversation, the woman said.
The woman told detectives Mahar also told her that he was going to shoot and kill Reames. Mahar told the woman Reames was threatening him and throwing rocks at his house.
The woman told detectives that she had never seen Reames threaten or harass Mahar or his wife, the court records state.
Another neighbor told detectives that she heard a shot Wednesday afternoon and came outside. The woman said she saw Mahar standing on his front porch “cradling a long gun,” and then saw Reames “lying face down on the ground in front of his trailer moaning.”
The woman asked Mahar if he had shot Reames, to which Mahar responded “Yeah.” When the woman asked Mahar why he shot Reames, Mahar allegedly told her it was because Reames “was an (expletive),” court documents state.
‘He’d had enough’
In an interview with detectives, Mahar said he had been sitting on his deck when Reames began verbally and physically harassing and threatening him. When asked for details about the verbal and physical threats and harassment, Mahar could not and did not provide any details, the records state.
Mahar then told detectives that Reames did not physically assault him, but that Reames was an “’(expletive)’ who deserved to be dead,” according to court records.
Mahar told detectives he went into his house, grabbed his shotgun and loaded it. He then admitted that he shot Reames once from his deck while Reames was standing by his vehicle.
Mahar also told detectives that he keeps his ammunition in his bedroom and the shotgun unloaded in a different part of the house.
Throughout the interview with detectives, Mahar was allegedly unable to explain or provide detailed information regarding threats or harassment he had received from Reames. Mahar did not describe being in any imminent fear or danger from Reames, and could not tell detectives what had put him in fear for his life, the court documents stated.
Mahar also admitted to wanting to kill Reames prior to Oct. 4, and said “that he’d had enough.”
Mahar told detectives that he was a Vietnam War veteran and a former police officer “and bragged about being in gunfights” and called the shooting incident with his neighbor a gunfight. Mahar allegedly bragged that he was able to physically fight despite his age, and allegedly told the detective that he could beat him up.
When the detective asked Mahar why he didn’t just fight Reames instead of shooting him, since Mahar was physically able to fight, Mahar did not provide an explanation, the court records state.
Mahar admitted to detectives that he had one shot of alcohol prior to the shooting.
Previous threats
During their investigation, detectives learned Mahar made a noise complaint against Reames on Nov. 17, 2022. In the complaint, Mahar told deputies that Reames was making lots of noise and was upset over it.
Mahar allegedly told the deputy that he “wished he could just kill” Reames. The deputy did not hear any noise coming from Reames’ trailer when he arrived, and cautioned Mahar about making threats to kill. Mahar was told to call 911 and let the sheriff’s office handle any issues, according to court records.
In addition to the November 2022 complaint, there have been at least four additional reports since November 2021 involving Mahar and Reames, Slater with the sheriff’s office told The Herald. No criminal activity is alleged to have occurred during any of those incidents, Slater said.
A shotgun believed to have been used in the killing was recovered and put into evidence. No additional firearms were found at the Mahar’s residence, Slater said.
Mahar “had made threats to kill [Reames] the previous day. He went into his home, grabbed his empty shotgun, went into his bedroom to get a shotgun shell, and loaded it. [Mahar] stepped onto his porch and with intent purposefully shot Vincent Reames in the chest from his porch at approximately 30 feet.”
At the time Reames was shot, he was on his own property and did not have any weapons, court documents state.
