A judge sentenced a soldier at Joint Base Lewis-McChord to nine months in jail Monday after he earlier pleaded guilty to shooting up a Rainier home on New Year’s Day to get revenge for an affair, court papers state.
Eric David Kollar, 25, pleaded guilty in June to second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence. Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Toynbee said Monday that Kollar is being discharged from the military.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy imposed Kollar’s nine-month sentence Monday after it was jointly recommended by Toynbee and Kollar’s defense attorney as part of a plea agreement.
Police think 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, according to police and court papers. The man previously had an affair with Kollar’s wife while Kollar was in Iraq, police said.
Kollar 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 in January.
According to court papers:
Tenino police were dispatched to the 900 block of Tipsoo Loop in Rainier in the early morning hours of Jan. 1 on a report of shots fired. The Tenino Police Department contracts with the City of Rainier to provide law enforcement there.
Tenino police recovered four shell 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 a mile and a half from where the shots were fired.
Police did not have evidence linking Kollar to the shots until Jan. 3, when a tipster reported that Kollar might have been involved. Tenino officer Christopher Davis learned that one of the firearms found in Kollar’s pickup was a .45-caliber Glock.
The man Kollar was allegedly 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,” the night he struck the power pole.
Kollar has no prior criminal history.
jpawloski@theolympian.com360-754-5445
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.