Homeowner threatened my wife with a gun, then pointed a laser equipped firearm at her

[Patriot1775]

Last night my wife stopped on the side of a rural road last night (Bald Hills Road outside Yelm WA). She was on her cellphone calling someone, and stopped the car due to cell coverage dropping after this area and to use her cell. It happened to be across from a house. The owner proceeded to walk up to her car and said if she didn't leave he was getting his gun and would shoot her. She stated she was on a county road, not on his property, and doing nothing wrong. She then dialed 911. While on the phone, she then noticed a red laser beam moving around her head and her phone. She looked over and saw a silhouette of a person with a gun in the picture window of the home. 2 renters of a trailer on his property came to my wife's car and apologized for the owners actions. They apparently overheard the incident. WTF over? Thurston County sheriff deputy arrived. After a brief discussion of the incident, He told my wife he had a right to point a gun at her because he was on his property. She stated he threatened her. Still the deputy said he didn't do anything wrong. I called 911 and had the deputy call me at my home. I brought up the WA RCW about brandishing and threatening bodily harm with a firearm. He stated the law is vague and there is nothing he can do with the new WA anti-LEO measures. I said that if I pulled up my shirt to "reveal" my concealed firearm to another person during an argument that I'd be arrested. He stated yes. But, I countered that if I pointed a firearm at someone that is ok? Yep. OK in WA if I'm on my property. Seems that threatening to shoot someone is different than saying you're gonna kill them. Am I wrong in thinking this situation should have been handled differently? The old fart never inquired if she was broken down or needed assistance. Just " Leave or I'm getting my gun". Me thinks I need to pay him a "friendly" visit and have a chat. He needs a teachable moment.

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[SonicBlue03]

Leave it alone. It's not worth the hassle or the unexpected immediate escalation if it goes there. He's a tard, probably married his sister and has had one natural tooth in his mouth for thirty years.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Could it have been handled differently by the home owner....Yep.

Should you pay him a "friendly visit"..Nope.

It seems to me that if Henry Homeowner is that quick to use a gun / laser sight to make a point / threaten...
He may do so with you....which will then mean that you have to make a potentially life changing decision.

As rough as it sounds....I'd let it be.

Your wife was there accidentally....you going there is a willful act....that may be used against you in court if it ends up there...
Andy

 

[Kruel J]

An old guy on his property at night. And if she could see the gun/laser through the picture window it sounds like she was fairly close to his house.

Maybe he's had troubles in the past. Who knows. Either way I'd leave it be and move on.

 

[CountryGent]

Me thinks I need to pay him a "friendly" visit and have a chat.

Considering you'll likely never see him again, I can't think of anything positive coming from a visit, and it doesn't take much imagination to envision some bad scenarios going down. Time is a valuable commodity; no sense wasting it on belligerent idiots.

 

[Connor Murphy]

No real upside for you - you won't change this fella's world view and the down side could be irrevocably life altering.

 

[The Heretic]

A LOT depends on whether the LEOs want to do something about any given action.

If they want to do something (such as an arrest), they will find something to charge you with, whether what you did was legal or not.

If they don't want to do something, they will make excuses. If that had been a LEO in that car instead of your wife, you can bet there would have been a full SWAT team out there knocking his door down and he would be in jail right now.

I've seen it happen and experienced it myself (for much lesser things).

I respect LEOs - they have a dirty thankless job - but they have a number of people who don't want to bother with such things where it is maybe borderline or where they think it just isn't worth the effort - to them - so they make excuses. They also have a number of people who have a hard on for someone doing some minor little thing and will take them down hard for it if they think they can get away with it (and they usually can). In short, they are human.

 

[Stomper]

If it were me…. I'd sneak up there under the cover of the darkness of night, and shove a bunch of bananas in the tailpipes of all his vehicles.

 

[Kruel J]

If it were me…. I'd sneak up there under the cover of the darkness of night, and shove a bunch of bananas in the tailpipes of all his vehicles.

So you're saying be like Axel.....probably smarter than confronting the old guy.

 

[Kruel J]

When I lived in Pierce County, Yelm was known as a dump full of meth heads and meth cooks. Good combo. Maybe he is the former or the latter? Or maybe he's had one too many of them on his property. No good will come of a confrontation. It's an irresponsible idea at best.

 

[User 1234]

You could file a civil suit, but collecting on the judgment would likely be difficult.

 

[salmon creek gary]

That Thurston County Deputy has a boss who would probably be delighted to discuss the ins & outs of the situation with you, especially if you suggested you were on the fence about who to discuss it with . . . the Sheriff, or a TV reporter.

 

[titsonritz]

 

[titsonritz]

That Thurston County Deputy has a boss who would probably be delighted to discuss the ins & outs of the situation with you, especially if you suggested you were on the fence about who to discuss it with . . . the Sheriff, or a TV reporter.

^^^This

 

[Member 34319]

What was the nature of your wife's phone call? Urgent?

If not, I think it may be best she practice more, get the F away from people who bring up shooting you.

I understand the desire to do something, but that's a bad idea. Leave it be. Be glad nothing happened. Next time, hopefully she just drives off. Not even worth arguing with stupid people like the one she encountered, especially if the law is neutered and apparently cares less.

 

[Jay Walk]

I'D BE PISSED TOO, but old man is out of it.
Let it be.

 

[Patriot1775]

An old guy on his property at night. And if she could see the gun/laser through the picture window it sounds like she was fairly close to his house.

Maybe he's had troubles in the past. Who knows. Either way I'd leave it be and move on.

Nope. Guy has a huge picture window and home is approx. 100 feet from the road. Not like she pulled into his driveway. It's gated anyway.

 

[Patriot1775]

You could file a civil suit, but collecting on the judgment would likely be difficult.

Going to go that route. My wife called her friend of 20 years who's a judge. She recommended a local attorney. Might not win but it gets him into the county records.

 

[CountryGent]

Not even worth arguing with stupid people like the one she encountered, especially if the law is neutered and apparently cares less.

^. This. A disturbing feature of adult life is dealing with and/or navigating around the hordes of mental defectives. The ones that can be handled by simply not having anything to do with them are by far the easiest.

 

[Patriot1775]

I'll let it be. Trust me. Wackos like this shouldn't be allowed firearms.