QUILCENE — A fight between two men could have turned deadly if a pistol that one fired at another had not malfunctioned Tuesday morning at 120 Pete Beck Road, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
Eli Matthew Miller of Quilcene was arrested for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon after pointing a .22-caliber gun at Zachary Archuleta after a violent altercation in which Miller accused Archuleta of mistreating Miller’s two sons.
Archuleta is living with Miller’s ex-wife, Denise Miller, as well as the children.
Miller remained in custody in the Jefferson County jail in Port Hadlock on Wednesday. Bail was set at $20,000.
A Sheriff’s Office charging document gave this account:
Eli Miller told deputies that he went to the house on Pete Beck Road after receiving a text message from his ex-wife suggesting that Archuleta, also known as John, might be harming the children.
Miller, driving from a nearby house at 194 Pete Beck Road, confronted Archuleta, pushing him over a railing, Archuleta told a deputy.
The two came to blows.
Archuleta said that Miller pulled out a gun and began hitting him repeatedly on the leg.
Archuleta said he went after Miller with gardening shears and Miller pulled the trigger.
Archuleta said he heard a pop and saw smoke before moving aside as if to dodge a bullet which never came.
Archuleta again attacked Miller with the shears, pushing Miller to the ground and beating him repeatedly, according to Denise Miller.
Denise Miller then said she hit Archuleta with a baseball bat. He grabbed a piece of lumber to defend himself, at which time she stood between the two men so Miller could get away.
Denise Miller had called the Sheriff’s Office, saying that Archuleta was assaulting Miller.
Deputies found a bat in Denise Miller’s car and a pair of shears in the house but did not find a gun.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
