A 75-year-old Olympia man is facing charges after allegedly firing a handgun in front of a group of people setting off July 4 fireworks with their children.
The incident reportedly occurred outside a home on the 2500 block of 27th Avenue Southwest in Olympia, near South Puget Sound Community College.
Witnesses say James Evan Erlandson fired a gun in front of a woman who was visiting a friend’s home with her three children, according to court records. Police report that he told them he became upset after people at the home set off small fireworks, even though he asked them not to out of concern for his dogs.
Police arrested Erlandson on suspicion of second-degree assault while armed with a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and four counts of reckless endangerment.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Egeler found probable cause for the alleged crimes on July 5. She set bail at $5,000 after finding there was a danger Erlandson may commit a violent crime if released without conditions.
Erlandson was released from the county jail after he posted bail later that day, court records show. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against him for the same alleged crimes on Tuesday.
Court records indicate Erlandson has no known adult criminal convictions. He’s scheduled to return to court at 9 a.m. July 16 for his arraignment hearing.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the incident from the perspective of law enforcement.
An Olympia officer responded to reports of a man with a gun. When the officer arrived, he spoke to the woman who Erlandson threatened with the gun.
The woman told the officer Erlandson approached her as she was lighting small fireworks with her three children. As he got closer, she said he pulled out the firearm from his waist band.
She yelled out, “he has a gun,” and someone helped move her children inside. As this occurred, the woman said Erlandson pointed the firearm at her and then pointed it to the sky.
The woman told the officer she was unsure if he fired the gun, but she saw his finger on the trigger. After this occurred, she said multiple people confronted Erlandson and he left before police arrived.
She said she did not know Erlandson and she believed he was going to shoot her and her children, according to the statement.
The officer collected the firearm, which the statement describes as a “.22 Caliber Browning Long Rifle Pistol,” on the hood of a nearby vehicle. A “single .22 caliber live ammo” reportedly came out of the gun chamber as the officer cleared the firearm.
Another witness who knew Erlandson said he saw Erlandson arguing with people at the home but he backed away to not get involved. He said he saw Erlandson return to his home, where officers later arrested him.
Witnesses described Erlandson as an older man with gray shorts and a red flannel shirt, according to the statement.
He allegedly wore the same shorts when he was arrested, but the shorts were blood stained from a fight with the people at the residence, according to court records. Officers reportedly found his red flannel as well.
The woman Erlandson initially approached identified Erlandson as the suspect after officers had detained him.
Erlandson reportedly agreed to provide a statement to the responding officer following his arrest. He said he fired the gun “one or two times” to get the attention of the people at the home because he wanted them to stop lighting fireworks, according to the probably cause statement.
Erlandson said he previously asked the people at the home to stop for his dogs, but they refused, according to the statement.
A person at the home began to fight Erlandson after he fired the gun, Erlandson said, but before that happened, he threw the gun on the ground.
Erlandson denied pointing the gun at anyone. He said he did not intend to harm anyone, the statement says, but he was “mad about the fireworks and his thoughts got away from him,” court records say.
Source Agencies
