PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man who allegedly fired a weapon multiple times from an Eighth Street bridge on Monday is being held in the Clallam County Jail on $350,000 bail.
Jesse Raymond Crain, 44, was arrested about 6 a.m. Monday following a three-hour search that included a K9 unit and drone support, according to court documents.
He allegedly fired from the bridge about 3 a.m., according to a probable cause statement written by Port Angeles Police Department officer Trevor Dropp.
Crain is being investigated for aiming or discharging a firearm, three counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, second-degree assault of a police officer and possession of a controlled substance, the police department said.
About 3:01 a.m. Monday, PAPD Officer Glenn Deckard was dispatched to a report of a weapons violation in the 400 block of West Eighth Street following reports of a man shooting a pistol.
Deckard used his spotlights to illuminate the man and observed him wearing a ski mask that exposed only the area around his eyes, according to court documents.
Deckard told the man to take his hands out of his pockets, and he pulled out a solid black object that Deckard believed to be a handgun.
Deckard retreated behind his patrol car, activated his emergency lights, retrieved his rifle and broadcast on the radio that the man had a gun, according to court documents.
Deckard and Corporal Bruce Fernie followed the man as he fled westbound on foot, and they lost sight of him in the area of Eighth and Pine streets.
A resident in a house on South Pine Street signaled to police officers with a flashlight from their window, and the resident told Deckard that they heard someone run by and jump into the bushes eastbound toward the valley, according to court documents.
Officer Mikkiah Brady responded to the area of the Eighth Street bridge to help with the investigation and located seven spent .45 caliber shell casings on the bridge, according to court documents.
Additional resources were called in for support, including a K9 unit, drone operators and the Peninsula Crisis Response Team.
The Port Angeles Fire Department also was requested to stage in the area and parked two medic units in a parking lot in the 500 block of West Eighth Street.
While attempting to locate the man, Officer Daniel Martinez, who was operating a drone with thermal vision, told command staff that he observed a man trying to open the back doors of the medic units and kept watching the man as he proceeded westbound in the alley, then south on Pine Street, according to court documents.
Dropp and Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Jason Viada responded in the 500 block of West Eighth Street and contacted the man as he was walking toward them with a flashlight.
The man identified himself as Crain and said he only “touched” the doors of the medic units, according to court documents.
Crain, who had cuts on his face and hands with recently dried blood, was detained for vehicle prowl and criminal trespass, according to court documents.
About the same time, an area search was initiated for the man who fled from officers at the bridge, and the crisis team said a wallet belonging to Crain had been located in the valley, according to court documents.
Officers learned of a call on Nov. 19 during which Crain allegedly told the reporting party he was going to “shoot the voices” because he wanted to make them stop, according to court documents.
The reporting party from that incident told dispatchers that Crain was having hallucinations and said he obtained a bunch of ammunition to shoot the voices.
The reporting party said Crain has guns, including the possibility of having a .45 caliber pistol, according to court documents.
Crain has a previous felony conviction for second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, which prohibits him from possessing firearms, court documents said.
The police department was granted a search warrant for Crain’s house in the 500 block of West 10th Street, and during the execution of the warrant, they found a loaded Smith & Wesson .22 revolver, two long guns inside a gun safe along with passports for Crain, numerous .22 caliber and .45 caliber casings spread throughout the living area, plus a tan-colored Wrangler jacket, gray jeans and a gray ski mask with a cutout around the eye area, according to court documents.
A white crystalline substance that appeared to be methamphetamine and a white powdery substance consistent with an illicit drug also were found in the home, court documents stated.
A .45 caliber pistol was not located at Crain’s home or the surrounding area of the Eighth Street bridges, and its current whereabouts are unknown, according to court documents.
