Tenino police arrested a solider at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for allegedly shooting up a Rainier home on New Year’s Day to get revenge for an affair.
Police think Eric David Kollar meant to target a romantic rival’s home but instead fired eight shots from a .45-caliber Glock into a home adjacent to where the man lived. The man had an affair with Kollar’s wife while Kollar was in Iraq, police said.
Kollar, 25, was most recently assigned to group support for the 1st Special Forces Group and has served at least one tour in Iraq, court papers state. He was arrested without incident Wednesday on suspicion of one count of drive-by shooting.
During a hearing Thursday, a Thurston County Superior Court judge ordered Kollar held at the Thurston County Jail with bail set at $100,000.
According to court papers:
Tenino police were dispatched to the 900 block of Tipsoo Loop in Rainier in the early morning Jan. 1 on a report of shots fired. The Tenino Police Department contracts with the City of Rainier to provide law enforcement there.
Police Chief Sean Gallagher recovered four casings at the scene. On Jan. 3, a homeowner on Tipsoo Loop called police to report bullet holes in his home; four additional casings were found outside his residence.
After Kollar allegedly drove his Ford pickup into a power pole in the area of 118th Avenue and Manke Road near Yelm early Jan. 1, he was cited for misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run, possession of a dangerous weapon and carrying a concealed weapon. The crash occurred about 1½ from where the shots were fired.
But police did not have evidence linking Kollar to the shots until Jan. 3, when a tipster reported that Kollar might have been involved.
Officer Christopher Davis learned that one of the firearms found in Kollar’s pickup Jan. 1 was a .45-caliber Glock.
The man Kollar allegedly was targeting later told Davis he thought Kollar wanted to kill him.
Davis sent Kollar’s gun and the shell casings to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. Testing determined that the casings were fired from Kollar’s gun.
A passenger in Kollar’s pickup said Kollar “began to shoot his gun out the window” during the night.
Tenino police arranged to arrest Kollar with the help of military police at JBLM.
Kollar has no criminal history.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445
jpawloski@theolympian.com
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