'I wanted to help': West Kelso shooting victim says he was targeted for helping bullied kid
It only took a few seconds for Xanthyny David Degenstein's life to change forever when the father of four was shot in the face in West Kelso.
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The April shooting, prompted by what court records say was Degenstein's warning to neighborhood kids to stop bullying another, has left the 35-year-old with memory loss, difficulty eating and no feeling on one side of his face.
Degenstein now speaks with a slow, and at times, inaudible speech.
He said he asks his wife only to kiss him on the side of the face where he can still feel human touch.
He has three more surgeries to hopefully repair the damage, he said, adding to an already long initial recovery.
Degenstein told The Daily News that he was in a neurotrauma intensive care unit for eight days and spent four more days in the regular ICU before being discharged.
"Not only did they almost kill me ... (they took) me away from my kids and my family," he said about the suspects.
Degenstein's skull
Xanthyny David Degenstein's skull after being shot on April 2. Doctors placed a chain around his jaw after the injuries.
Just trying to help
Degenstein said a local teen had been bullying and intimidating a kid he knew for the past two and a half years.
After being asked by the bullied kid's mom, Degenstein spoke to the teen on April 2 about leaving the kid alone.
But the request didn't work.
Later that day, court records show the suspected bully and two adults approached Degenstein around 10 p.m. at a home across the street from the Children's Discovery Museum.
While the teen stayed in a red Dodge Durango - driven by Carlos Armondo Rodriguez, Jr., 25, of Longview - passenger, Alberto Vasquez Valencia, 25, of Longview, approached Degenstein with a gun, eventually firing, the arresting document states.
Degenstein said the two suspects ruined their lives by deciding to fire at him.
"They listened to a 14-year-old," he said. "They let a 14-year-old tell them some absolute bulls**t. They took it upon themselves to act like they were saving the day, like they were gonna be Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday."
Trying to make sense of the shooting
Degestein also has a criminal past.
He was arrested three times in 2024, with his next hearing scheduled for July 27.
Degestein is charged with first-degree robbery, felony harassment and theft of a motor vehicle in one Cowlitz County Superior Court case; first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in another; and four counts of violating the Uniform Controlled Substances Act in a third case.
But that was in the past. Today, he said he is focused on raising his 18-month-old daughter, 9-year-old son, 13-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter.
Degestein is also an aspiring rapper, who wore a dark Nipsey Hussle shirt to his interview with The Daily News, and arrived on a motorcycle.
After everything that's happened, Degenstein said the reasoning behind the shooting still doesn't make sense.
"Because I wanted to help a kid who was being bullied," he said.
The defendants
The suspects are still going through the court process too.
Rodriguez was the first to be arrested, and pleaded not guilty in Cowlitz County Superior Court on May 11 to five amended criminal charges: first-degree felony rendering criminal assistance, fourth-degree assault, displaying weapons capable of producing harm, resisting arrest and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
A warrant was issued for Valencia, who pleaded not guilty on June 23 to first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement, drive-by-shooting and displaying a weapon capable of producing harm.
Valencia's motion to reduce bail was denied; it stands at $350,000, and he remained in Cowlitz County Jail on Wednesday.
A hearing to set a trial date for Valencia was also held Wednesday, before The Daily News deadline, while Rodriguez's next court date is scheduled for July 27.
Thinking of his kids during the shooting
Degenstein said he remembers the shooting well.
He and his sister were in a minivan parked in a driveway when the suspects' Durango pulled in.
"A young sounding voice," could be heard shouting, "That's him right there," as Degenstein left the van, court records show.
Valencia then reached inside his waistband, allegedly saying something to the effect of "Let me find out, I'll catch a case, I don't care ... I swear to God," the report continues.
Degenstein, holding a PepperBall Launcher in his right hand, stepped in front of his sister.
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Rodriguez then advanced towards Degenstein, who backpaddled and aimed the launcher at Rodriguez.
Valencia then allegedly drew a gun, and fired a shot.
The shot knocked Degenstein to the ground, but he immediately got up and ran to the van, he said.
He remembers hearing his sister scream.
He turned to her.
"If I die, make sure my kids don't forget about me," he said he told her.
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