QUILCENE — A Seattle man is accused of firing a pistol at Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies and driving under the influence.
Luke A. Sisneros, 23, was released from the Jefferson County Jail on his personal recognizance Thursday.
He is alleged to have fired a pistol at deputies and tried to flee early Wednesday morning when deputies found him on state Department of Natural Resources land near Quilcene.
Sisneros was charged by Christopher Ashcraft, chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney on Thursday morning with first-degree assault-firearm or deadly weapon, a Class A felony; driving under the influence, a gross misdemeanor; reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor; and carrying a concealed loaded weapon without a license, a misdemeanor.
Sisneros said later that he thought he was shooting at “a bear or something.” Arraignment is scheduled for April 30, according to court documents.
At about 11:56 p.m. Tuesday, Deputies Adam Newman and Kolby Schreier investigated a report of an unknown person blocking a private driveway with a chain and putting up no trespassing signs on a property within the 24000 block of Snow Creek Road in Quilcene, said Sgt. Brandon Przygocki, in his probable cause report.
Newman was familiar with the area and identified the plot as being Department of Natural Resources land, Przygocki said.
At the location, the deputies blocked the old logging road with their marked vehicles and walked in. They found a campsite and saw no one, but they did hear someone.
A set of headlights shined light down the road at them and someone — later identified as Sisneros — walked in front of the light, blocking it, Przygocki said.
When the lights went out, both deputies heard a gunshot from that area and a bullet pass over their heads into the trees, he said in his report.
Schreier called out “shots fired” over the radio, during which Przygocki clearly heard Newman shouting “Sheriff’s Office,” he said.
Przygocki and Deputy Darrin Dotson were en route to assist when Sisneros got into his vehicle and began driving toward the parked patrol cars, causing Newman and Schreier to take cover, Przygocki said.
It was communicated that Sisneros was driving a Jeep, and while heading to the scene, Dotson was ahead of Przygocki and informed him that the vehicle was heading his way.
The Jeep allegedly swerved left toward Przygocki’s vehicle, causing Przygocki to drive into a ditch to avoid a collision. Soon after, Sisneros stopped his Jeep and complied with the deputies who took him into custody.
Sisneros informed deputies the firearm was in his car and not on him while he was being searched.
During the arrest, Przygocki smelled a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana emanating from Sisneros, along with his speech being slow, thick and slurred and him being unsteady on his feet, Przygocki said.
After obtaining a warrant, .45 caliber American Tactical 1911 pistol and magazines were found in the Jeep, as well as a loaded magazine of six .45 caliber rounds found on Sisneros, Przygocki said.
A breathalyzer test was done twice, and Sisneros had about a 0.160 blood alcohol content (BAC), twice the legal limit of 0.08, Przygocki said.
During a later interview, after being read his rights, Sisneros admitted he was scared and said he fired one round into the ground, because he heard something moving and thought it was “like a bear or something.”
He said he didn’t know that the deputies were law enforcement, and he said he didn’t see the patrol cars parked in the road, Przygocki said.
“I found this statement hard to believe because Sisneros had to drive around the parked patrol cars through the ditch, brush, trees, etc., which caused a lot of damage to his car,” said Przygocki in his report. “I also heard Deputy Newman yelling ‘Sheriff’s Office’ in the background of the radio traffic.”
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.