PORT ANGELES — A charge was dropped, at least temporarily, after a Port Angeles man who had carried a rifle and held police off in his West Port Angeles back yard for two hours Monday was hospitalized Wednesday.
Gary L. Blanton, 51, was transferred to Olympic Medical Center at the request of the Clallam County jail, and the charge of reckless endangerment against him was dismissed without prejudice, said Chris Cowgill, assistant city attorney for Port Angeles.
“He was at the point he was not able to come to court,” Cowgill said.
The charge can be re-filed later, after Blanton’s medical situation has been resolved, he said.
An Olympic Medical Center spokeswoman said Blanton was in stable condition late Wednesday.
Blanton was arrested Monday night for investigation of reckless endangerment after he was found with a rifle near his residence at 1223 South I St.
Port Angeles police officers, summoned by a report of shots being fired, barricaded a 10-block area and attempted to negotiate with him for two hours to persuade him to turn over his weapon.
He did not respond and police used a stun grenade to distract Blanton and take him into custody.
Additional firearms were found in his home, including one that had blood droplets on it, according to police.
Police have not determined the source of the blood on the firearm.
Blanton was being held in the Clallam County jail on $5,000 bail.
He was reported to be ill Tuesday and was under the care of a nurse in the jail. On Wednesday, he was too ill to appear at a municipal court hearing.
His condition required transfer to the hospital, so charges were temporarily dismissed, Cowgill said.
Cowgill said he could not release information about Blanton’s illness.
Blanton is the father of Gary L. Blanton, Jr., who was killed on June 2, 2012, at the age of 28.
On September 2012, Patrick Drum pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the June shooting deaths of the younger Blanton and Jerry W. Ray, 56, of Port Angeles.
Drum was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
