Ariel Romano was killed in Vancouver, Washington, on June 9, 2018, in what was initially reported as a street racing incident. However, court documents later clarified that Romano was not racing but was being pursued by another vehicle. The chase culminated in Romano being fatally shot in the head while driving his 2002 Toyota Corolla on State Route 503. After being shot, his car left the roadway and crashed into a tree near Prairie High School, where he was pronounced dead.
There were no passengers in his vehicle.
The subsequent investigation revealed that the incident was not a random act of road rage but the result of a drug deal that had gone awry. According to a Washington State Patrol spokesman, the shooting was not believed to be gang-related. This information shifted the focus of the investigation towards identifying the individuals involved in the drug transaction and the subsequent chase.
Authorities made several arrests in connection with the homicide. Raul Flores, a 44-year-old from Vancouver, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Another individual, Jonathan Oson, who was already in the Clark County Jail on unrelated charges, was identified as having been in the suspect's vehicle with Flores. Investigators were uncertain as to who was driving and who fired the shot that killed Romano. A third man, Justin Schell, was arrested on unrelated warrants and was believed to have been a middleman who arranged the drug deal between Romano and the suspects. Schell was reportedly one of the last people to have contact with Romano before he was killed and has been cooperating with the investigation. During their investigation, police searched a residence in Vancouver's Orchard's area, where they discovered evidence potentially linked to the crime, including weapons. A person at the home was also arrested on charges unrelated to Romano's death.
