Investigators arrested a 77-year-old Vancouver man one day after a woman reported being assaulted outside a Hazel Dell store.
HAZEL DELL, Wash. — Video footage, photographs and a vehicle license plate supplied by a woman who reported being assaulted in a Walmart parking lot helped Clark County sheriff’s deputies identify and arrest a 77-year-old Vancouver man the following morning, authorities said.
Timothy Coe was arrested at his Vancouver residence at about 9 a.m. Nov. 11 and booked into the Clark County Jail on one count of fourth-degree assault, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The arrest followed a confrontation reported shortly after 10 a.m. Nov. 10 at the Walmart at 9000 N.E. Highway 99 in Hazel Dell.
The woman told deputies she had been loading her infant into her vehicle when another driver began maneuvering into the parking space next to her. She became concerned that the approaching vehicle would strike her open door and tapped the other vehicle to alert its driver, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said the driver, later identified as Coe, got out and an argument followed. The woman told investigators that Coe punched her on the right side of her face and grabbed her arms. Her initial call to authorities also reported that she had been pushed to the ground.
Deputies who responded documented redness on the woman’s face, swelling around an eyelid and bruising on her arms, the sheriff’s office said. A witness intervened during the confrontation and helped separate the two people.
The investigation was aided by material the woman had recorded or photographed during the encounter. She provided deputies with video footage and images of the man and his vehicle, including the license plate, giving investigators information they could use to identify the driver after he had left the store.
Deputies contacted Coe at his home the next morning and took him into custody without incident, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities did not report a second arrest or say that investigators were seeking another suspect in connection with the confrontation.
Washington law generally classifies fourth-degree assault as a gross misdemeanor when the circumstances do not amount to first-, second- or third-degree assault or custodial assault. Coe is accused of the offense, and the allegation has not been proven in court.
KOIN reported that Coe later posted bail and was expected to appear in court Nov. 20. No additional finding about the allegation had been announced as of Friday.
Author note: Last updated November 13, 2026.