A disputed fence, a shotgun and alcohol made for a bad recipe near Gig Harbor, charges say
The fence might be a good thing in the end.
Its construction led to a boundary dispute between two neighbors Tuesday west of Gig Harbor.
Alcohol might have escalated things.
The situation really went south when one of the men tried to make amends, and his efforts were not well-received.
A fired shotgun and alleged death threats led to Pierce County Superior Court, where the 57-year-old fence owner pleaded not guilty at arraignment Wednesday to second-degree assault and felony harassment.
Charging papers give this account:
The Sheriff’s Department got involved about 5 p.m. The 57-year-old told deputies his neighbor was harassing workers who were building the fence.
He also said the neighbor, who deputies noticed smelled of alcohol, had tried to get him to fight.
Deputies told the men to keep to themselves and to call if there were problems.
There were.
A few hours later the 57-year-old called 911, and deputies were back.
He’d said he’d fired a shotgun.
He said he grabbed the gun when the neighbor approached his back door. He yelled at the neighbor to leave and fired one shot in the air to scare him away, he said.
The neighbor wasn’t threatening him at the time, he said, but he was afraid because of previous threats.
He had surveillance video, he told the deputies.
The audio from it included the 57-year-old yelling: “Get off my property before I blow your (expletive) head off,” and, “Get out of here.”
The neighbor said: “I’m just trying to be cool.”
The 57-year-old replied: “No, you’re not cool, you’re an idiot,” then “Get your (expletive) dog off my property before I (expletive) shoot it, you’re gonna die (expletive).”
Then the video showed the neighbor walk back to his own property, and the 57-year-old yelled: “You’re responsible for this (expletive) show, you’re an (expletive) from hell. You are gonna die, and I’m gonna be responsible for your death on my property (expletive).”
At that point it sounded like the neighbor said: “Don’t point it,” and a shot was fired.
Then the 57-year-old yelled a final: “Get off my property you (expletive).”
The neighbor told deputies he’d been trying to make amends.
He knocked on the backdoor, and the 57-year-old came out with a shotgun and threatened to shoot him.
He said he raised his hands and walked away, and that the 57-year-old kept yelling and had the shotgun pointed at him.
When he got to his property, a shot was fired and he felt a “whoosh” above his head.
“The victim had noted that he had been drinking earlier, and this may have been a factor in the escalating tensions between them, on this date,” the declaration for determination of probable cause said.
