Polson man fires shots at family reunion
POLSON — A family reunion proved to be too much stress for a 66-year-old man who was given a five-year suspended sentence in Lake County District Court last Thursday for firing a .40 caliber pistol from the basement of his house toward the upstairs area which was occupied by his partner and her family members.
William Pounds, a Polson resident, won’t receive any jail time for the incident that resulted in 11 gunshot holes in the ceiling of the house’s lower level.
According to Lake County Sheriff reports, on July 19 authorities responded to a report of shots fired in a residence near U.S. Highway 93. The defendant’s partner told authorities later that she was having a small family reunion and Pounds was stressed out because of it. She said that some dogs fighting set him off. He told everyone to get out of the house, pushed his nephew and went downstairs.
When family members started to leave, the court affidavit said they heard gunshots from downstairs. Two family members left the home and got into their Blazer in the parking area of the home. Pounds allegedly came out with a black handgun, shot several rounds toward a different family member, pointed it at another and then shot toward the Blazer four or five times.
When authorities arrived, Pounds was the only person still in the residence and two teams were used to knock and announce attempts at the residence’s two entrances, then went inside.
According to the court affidavit, when Pounds was taken into custody, he said that he could not handle all the people in his house and just wanted them to leave. Along with the 11 gunshot holes, authorities found spent .40 casings on the floor of the lower level and a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol in Pounds’ bedroom along with two empty magazines.
Authorities found shell casings outside the residence and bullets lodged in tables and a mattress inside.
Pounds was originally charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and criminal endangerment. He pleaded not guilty on Sept. 1, 2011 and signed a plea agreement on Dec. 22, 2011 which dismissed the assault charges.