He blasted music in his van late at night. When neighbors complained, he shot at them, documents say

He was blasting music from his van late into the night Wednesday in the parking lot of his Midland apartment complex. His neighbors came out one-by-one to ask him to turn it down.

By the time the third one came out, he pulled out a pistol and shot at the person’s head, Pierce County prosecutors say.

Mario Montes Jr., 35, was charged Friday in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Judge Pro Tempore Brian Tollefson set his bail at $300,000.

According to charging documents:

Montes was in his van in the parking lot outside his apartment complex in the 1700 block of 74th Street Court East, just outside the Tacoma city limits, about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, blasting music.

One of his neighbors came outside and asked him to turn the music down because of the late hour, seeing a collection of empty booze bottles inside the vehicle in the process. She was able to turn the music down, but Montes quickly turned it back up.

A second neighbor came outside and asked Montes to turn his music down so she and her child could sleep. He was quickly angered, and he cursed at the woman and told her to leave.

Then he pulled out his handgun and chambered a round.

The first woman tried to intervene. The second woman fled.

A third neighbor came outside, only to be confronted by Montes.

Montes aimed for the man’s head and fired his gun. The bullet missed his neighbor, grazed a car’s fender and went through the glass door of one of the apartments, where residents were home.

After that, Montes tried to give the handgun to the first woman, who refused it and fled to her apartment. He then forced his way into her apartment despite her protestations, then told her he would force police to kill him.

Tacoma police arrived and figured out which apartment Montes had fled to, and the woman told them he had fled through the back door. He was arrested outside, his holster empty.

After being arrested, Montes told the officers he had gotten into an argument with the neighbors and said there was no gun involved and that he never had one. He also said he had been invited into the apartment.

Montes has twice been convicted of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, as well as convictions for second-degree attempted robbery and second-degree kidnapping.

Prosecutors noted that additional charges of first-degree burglary, felony harassment and reckless endangerment may be filed against Montes.