PORT TOWNSEND — A 70-year-old Port Townsend man remained in the Jefferson County jail Tuesday on $750,000 bond after allegedly threatening a 38-year-old woman with a gun Monday evening.
James D. Richards is scheduled to be arraigned on one count of first-degree attempted murder Friday.
He made his first appearance in court Tuesday when Superior Court Judge Keith Harper set the bond.
If tried and found guilty, Richards would face up to life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.
A Port Townsend woman called 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers at 7:06 p.m. Monday saying Richards had a gun and was trying to get into her apartment, according to the probable-cause statement written by Detective Jason Greenspane of the Port Townsend Police Department.
Police did not identify the woman.
She would not allow officers into her apartment until she saw them through the peephole and removed items she had placed against the door as a barricade, the statement said.
The woman “was crying and hysterical . . . and it was difficult to calm her down enough to get what transpired from her,” Greenspane said.
She told police she was walking to her apartment and heard footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Richards holding a handgun and pointing it at her as if he were ready to fire.
It was “clear from the tone of the conversation that [she] was terrified that Richards was going to shoot and kill her,” Greenspane said in his statement.
The woman said Richards’ apartment was directly below her own and she was fearful he would shoot at her through his ceiling.
Police knocked on Richards’ door. Officer Jeremy Vergin ordered Richards out of the apartment at gunpoint, the statement said, adding that Richards was handcuffed in the hallway.
After being read his Miranda rights, Richards told police he was “going to blow her away” and that he wanted to kill the woman “but she closed the door too fast,” the statement said.
Upon a search of Richards’ apartment, police found a loaded .45-caliber Colt handgun on the floor.
An investigation revealed a history of disputes between Richards and the woman, police said, including a no-contact order.
The woman had confronted Richards several times about smoking in the building’s common area and excessive noise, police said.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
