Man says he was in fear when he fired shotgun pellets at quad riders

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A Port Hadlock man faces assault and reckless endangerment charges after a November incident in which he allegedly fired rubber pellets from a shotgun toward three people on four-wheel ATVs, or quads.

One of those quad riders was struck in the left thigh and later received medical treatment for his injury, according to court documents.

Donald L. Brickey, 59, of Port Hadlock is charged in Jefferson County Superior Court with second-degree assault and two counts of reckless endangerment, according to documents filed Dec. 7.

As Brickey is not in custody, the court has issued a summons for him to appear for arraignment Dec. 18.

INCIDENT ON NOV. 14

Brickey called 911 to report unwelcome people at his residence in the 100 block of Ann Kively Drive at 7:22 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14, saying the people were riding quads on his property and that he had fired rubber pellets into the air from his shotgun, according to court documents.

Soon after, Seth Thompson, 35, of Port Ludlow called to report he and three friends had been riding quads when a property owner shot at them after they had asked permission to cross that person's property, according to court documents. Thompson reported that Robert Ammeter, 36, of Port Hadlock had been injured after the property owner opened fire, according to court documents.

Deputies and medical aid crews arrived on the scene about 10 minutes later, and Ammeter, who complained of pain in his upper left thigh, was transported to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend for further treatment, according to court documents.

Ammeter told the deputies that he and his friends had been riding quads in the woods above the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office – between Oak Bay and Elkins roads – when they came to a property at the end of a trail, according to court documents. Ann Kively Drive connects with Oak Bay Road at Kively Center in downtown Port Hadlock.

Thompson approached the house to ask if they could cross the property, returning to the group soon after, saying he'd been told no, according to court documents.

That's when Ammeter heard shots and felt a sharp pain in his leg, according to court documents. Before fleeing the area and calling 911, Ammeter said they yelled out for whomever was shooting to stop, according to court documents. The documents do not indicate whether the men were standing or riding their quads when the shots were fired.

Brickey told deputies he and his wife had been watching television in their home when his wife noticed a man in camouflage standing in their yard looking in the window, according to court documents. It was dark and raining at the time.

Brickey said he got scared and ran to bedroom closet to retrieve his 12-gauge shotgun loaded with rounds of rubber pellets and exited the house from the back, according to court documents.

Brickey's wife, Barbara Bullen, said she opened the front door and spoke with the man, who was later identified to be Thompson, according to court documents. When Thompson asked if he and his friends could cross the property, Bullen said no and suggested he speak with Brickey, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, Brickey exited through the back door and heard his wife calling his name as he rounded the house, according to court documents. That's when he noticed people by an archery target near a trail leading into the woods from his property, according to court documents.

Brickey said he yelled for the people to show their hands and get on their bellies before he fired at least two rounds into the air, aiming over the trees, according to court documents.

Brickey said he and his wife were in fear for their lives, according to court documents.

The documents do not indicate whether the four people – three men and one woman – either heard the property owner's commands or saw where the shots were coming from.

Deputies noted smelling alcohol on Brickey's breath, as well as a light odor of burnt marijuana, according to court documents.

Deputies seized Brickey's shotgun and remaining rounds as evidence, according to court documents.

A deputy later visited Ammeter at the hospital, learning that a rubber pellet had apparently become lodged in Ammeter's thigh, causing tissue damage, according to court documents. Upon entering his leg, the pellet had apparently narrowly missed Ammeter's femoral artery, which, if struck, could have been fatal, according to court documents.

Ammeter is a 1998 graduate of Chimacum High School.

MISINFORMATION

A Leader article published Dec. 9 erroneously reported that the case had been sent back to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for further investigation, based on information provided by Prosecutor Michael Haas on Dec. 6, when Julian Trejo, chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, could not be reached for comment.

That article was also based on Sheriff Dave Stanko's reading of his deputy's incident report, which Haas said could not be released because the investigation was ongoing.

Trejo, the deputy prosecutor handling the case, misspelled Brickey's name in charging documents she filed on the afternoon of Dec. 7.

Aside from addressing that issue, Trejo said on Dec. 13 that she intends to amend the charges to drop one of the two counts of reckless endangerment.