A Yakima County sheriff's deputy who was shot Tuesday during a domestic violence call has been released from the hospital.
Deputy Travis Watkins was released from MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital around 1 p.m. Wednesday and returned to his home with an escort of police vehicles, Yakima police spokesperson Yvette Inzunza said.
Watkins, 51, was shot three times early Tuesday morning when he and another deputy responded to a domestic violence call in Yakima's West Valley.
His accused shooter, 34-year-old John Winston Borgman, is being held in the Yakima County jail in lieu of $750,000 bail. Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Quinten Bowman said that breaks down to $250,000 for the two deputies and Borgman's wife, who were in the line of fire.
Watkins and Deputy Andrew Wilkinson went to a home in the 900 block of South Fork Road after 911 dispatchers received a hang-up call around 12:25 a.m. where they heard a man and a woman arguing, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by Yakima police, who are investigating the shooting. Dispatchers got a hold of someone at the house who said Borgman was there and was possibly assaulting his wife, the affidavit said.
Borgman's wife and another witness said he was having drug and mental health issues, and his wife asked the deputies to help her get items from the house so she and her children could leave, the affidavit said.
The deputies walked her to the house around 1:15 a.m., the affidavit said, and when she opened the door, the deputies saw Borgman in the front room with a military-style semiautomatic rifle. Wilkinson's body camera footage showed Watkins ordering Borgman to drop the gun, the affidavit said, and the deputies went for cover as a shot was fired.
Six more shots were heard, and as Wilkinson went to get his rifle from his patrol vehicle, Watkins yelled out that he had been hit, the affidavit said. Wilkinson put Watkins in his vehicle and drove him to the West Valley Fire Department station, where he received first aid before being taken to the Yakima hospital.
Watkins, 51, was hit in his left forearm, hand and abdomen, the affidavit said, and he lost two fingers. Watkins told investigators he heard Borgman say "Are the cops here?" before the shooting started.
While the deputies were heading to the fire station, Borgman, who had gone out and was using the radio in Watkins' vehicle, was told by radio to walk down and surrender to officers, the affidavit said.
Borgman was booked into the Yakima County jail on suspicion of second-degree assault related to domestic violence and two counts of first-degree assault.
At Wednesday's preliminary appearance, Bowman argued for the higher bail due to the nature of the crime and threats to public safety. He also got an order allowing police to seize more than 20 firearms from Borgman's house after his wife refused to surrender the weapons.
"Those additional guns are additional vehicles he can use to commit crime if he should post bail," Bowman told Judge Jared Boswell. "Given the nature of this offense, the state has concerns that the defendant's wife will move those guns to a location where the state cannot find them if they are not taken promptly."
Borgman had a prior conviction for second-degree robbery in 2009, and his right to own a firearm was restored in 2017, according to court records. In that robbery, Bowman said Borgman used pepper spray on a store employee when confronted about taking drugs from the store.
During the hearing, Borgman, who appeared via Zoom from a holding cell, tried to waive his right to an attorney, arguing that he could do a better job than a public defender, even though he had no formal legal training. At times, Boswell had to mute Borgman, who eventually agreed to accept an attorney.
