A confrontation that started on Chumstick Highway ended with a 71-year-old man shot in the thigh outside a small-town grocery store. Chelan County Sheriff's deputies responded to Plain Grocery Store at approximately 2:22 p.m. on Sunday after the roadway dispute between 20-year-old Russell McClees, who was riding a motorcycle, and 71-year-old Benjamin Barke, who was driving a pickup truck, spilled into the parking lot and turned physical. McClees was booked on suspicion of first-degree assault, while the case involving Barke was referred to prosecutors for review.
According to The Leavenworth Echo, investigators built their initial case using security camera footage from nearby businesses along with statements from both men. That footage reportedly helped detectives piece together a fast-moving sequence: Barke allegedly confronted McClees in the lot, the two men grappled, and Barke pointed a handgun at the younger man before dropping it during the struggle while trying to knock over McClees's motorcycle. McClees then retrieved the weapon and attempted to step away, the outlet reported, before Barke tried to recover his gun and McClees fired a single round that struck Barke's left thigh.
A Wound Serious Enough for Seattle
Barke suffered a serious gunshot wound and was ultimately transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. Per UW Medicine, Harborview is the only designated Level 1 adult and pediatric trauma center in Washington State, serving a regional area that stretches into Alaska, Montana, and Idaho — underscoring just how severe the injury was judged to be given the distance from rural Chelan County. Barke's condition following treatment has not been made available.
In the immediate aftermath, McClees asked a bystander to call 911, grabbed a belt from inside the store to use as a tourniquet on Barke's leg, and stayed at the scene until law enforcement arrived.
Two Men, Two Very Different Felony Exposures
Chelan County Sheriff's detectives determined there was probable cause to book McClees on suspicion of First-Degree Assault, while the case involving Barke was referred to the Chelan County Prosecutor's Office for review. The allegations concern different degrees of assault, addressed under RCW 9A.36.011 and RCW 9A.36.021.
That disparity sits uneasily against Washington's self-defense statute. Under RCW 9A.16.020, use of force is considered lawful when a person reasonably believes they are about to be injured, and state case law holds that individuals have no duty to retreat anywhere they have a legal right to be. That legal framework offers context for considering whether McClees's actions — retrieving a dropped gun and firing as an armed man who had just pointed a weapon at him continued approaching — fall within lawful self-defense.
Small Community, Not Its First Brush With Gun Violence
McClees was booked into the Chelan County Regional Jail. Plain itself is a small unincorporated community, roughly 15 miles north of Leavenworth along Chumstick Highway, and this is not the area's first violent scare involving a firearm. In August 2024, county deputies investigated a separate incident in Plain in which a 55-year-old man with gunshot wounds to both legs was driven to the nearby Plain Hardware store for medical aid, according to FOX 13 Seattle.
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison was elected to the office, and Chief Ryan Moody commented on the shooting. No further details on Barke's condition or the timeline for prosecutorial review of either man's case have been released.
