A 70-year-old Port Townsend man pleaded not guilty April 8 to a first-degree attempted murder charge.

James Davies Richards appeared in Jefferson County Superior Court via a video link from the jail as attorney Richard Davies represented him in court.

Richards' next hearing is set for April 29. A pretrial hearing is set for May 13, and a trial is set for May 23-24.

Richards was charged April 5 after allegedly pointing a gun at his upstairs neighbor at about 7 p.m., April 4 in the Claridge Court Apartments in Port Townsend. No shots were fired and no one was injured.

Deputy prosecutor Julie St. Marie told Judge Keith Harper that prosecutor Michael Haas made the charging decision. Haas could not be reached for comment.

St. Marie told the Leader that the charging decision was based on the victim's report and comments Richards allegedly made to police upon his arrest.

INCIDENT

At 7:06 p.m., April 4, Joleen Hinds, 38, reported that she had barricaded herself in her second-floor apartment after Richards, who lives directly below Hinds on the first floor, allegedly pointed his .45-caliber handgun at her in the second-floor hallway, according to a report by Sgt. Jason Greenspane of the Port Townsend Police Department (PTPD).

Greenspane said Richards had been smoking cigarettes and watching television in a common recreation area on the second floor, about 30 feet down the hall from Hinds' apartment door. He said Hinds reportedly confronted Richards in the common area and commented on his smoking in the smoke-free building as well as an ongoing issue of excessive noise coming from his ground-floor apartment.

Hinds then began walking down the hall to her apartment, Greenspane said, and heard footsteps behind her as she did. When Hinds turned around, she reportedly saw Richards walking toward her, fiddling with his gun before allegedly pointing it at her, he said.

Hinds told police she feared Richards might shoot through her door or the ceiling of his apartment, according to Greenspane's report.

After arresting Richards, police searched his first-floor apartment, finding his gun loaded.

INITIAL APPEARANCE

Richards appeared in court by video link from the jail at 11:30 a.m., April 5.

Judge Harper set bond at $750,000 and signed a no-contact order to protect Hinds.

BACKGROUND

Richards was charged with felony harassment in September 2005 after allegedly threatening to kill a QFC employee in Port Townsend, according to court records. He pleaded guilty and was found guilty in March 2006.

Richards was again charged with harassment after a December 2012 incident in which he allegedly threatened to kill his downstairs neighbor, Joleen Hinds, according to court records. Richards pleaded guilty and was found guilty in January 2013.

A Jefferson County Superior Court judge also signed a yearlong protection order Jan. 14, 2013 related to the December 2012 incident, according to court records. That order was not renewed, expiring in January 2014.

According to a December 2012 report by PTPD officer Luke Bogues, police had responded multiple times to the Claridge Court Apartments in the weeks prior to Richards' December 2012 arrest.

At that time, Hinds reported to police that over the prior two weeks, Richards had been drinking in his apartment below hers while listening to talk radio, sometimes shouting at her through the ceiling or banging on her apartment door.

Bogues reported that, prior to his arrest, Richards had been warned by Hinds, the apartment complex manager and police to stop the disruptive behavior.