PORT TOWNSEND — A Port Townsend man has been charged with first-degree domestic violence assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly shot at his mother.
Casey Scott Carter, 24, is being held at the Jefferson County jail on $250,000 bail. He made his initial Superior Court appearance Monday through video conference in front of Judge Keith Harper, and he is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
The Class A felony charges are punishable by up to life in prison and fines up to $50,000.
Carter’s mother sustained a bruised shoulder from the bullet but it did not penetrate her skin, according to court documents.
Carter was arrested at gunpoint by a Port Townsend police officer and a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy about 2:50 a.m. Friday as he was walking west on Discovery Road.
Police said Carter’s mother had been giving him a ride in her van when Carter pulled out a .38 caliber revolver and held it to his head. The woman was driving near 14th Street and Discovery Road when she stopped the van and ordered Carter to get out of the vehicle.
When Carter got out, he allegedly shot through the back window of the van. The bullet traveled through the window and the middle row of seats as well as the driver’s seat before it struck his mother, according to court documents.
But because the bullet had lost so much velocity, it didn’t penetrate the woman’s shoulder, police said.
The bullet was recovered between the woman’s sweatshirt and her skin, according to court documents.
“I don’t know if Mr. Carter is a good shot or if it was just lucky,” Jefferson County Prosecutor James Kennedy said in court Monday.
Kennedy said Carter’s mother sustained a large welt.
Defense attorney Richard Davies of Jefferson Associated Counsel argued to have bail set at $50,000 due to Carter’s lack of criminal history. Davies also cited Carter’s work as a server at a restaurant and that he lives with his grandparents so he could be separated from his mother.
But Kennedy said police have yet to recover the gun, and Carter might be the only person who knows where it is.
“My concern is that we have someone with homicidal tendencies here in our jail,” Kennedy said.
Harper agreed with the higher bail request.
“I find that you pose a very serious risk of harm not only to yourself but also to others,” Harper said to Carter through the video feed.
Harper also signed an order for Carter to have no contact with his mother.
According to the probable cause statement:
Detectives located broken glass at 14th and Discovery that matched the woman’s van. Detectives also confirmed the trajectory of the bullet.
Two .38 caliber rounds fell from Carter’s backpack as police detained him. Carter first denied having a gun but later told police he owns a .38 caliber revolver that his grandfather gave to him, and he shoots it every week.
Carter told police he didn’t have the gun that night and left it with a friend.
When Carter was transferred to jail, he was “belligerent and non-cooperative” as a detective tried to interview him.
Police initially booked Carter on investigation of attempted murder. Charges on Monday were for first-degree domestic violence assault with a deadly weapon.
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.