Vancouver man acquitted in assault

A Vancouver man who was accused of pointing a handgun at a group of teens at Little Prairie Park in October 2016 was acquitted following a jury trial in Clark County Superior Court last week.

The jury found Jason S. Rousseau, 44, not guilty on two counts of second-degree assault and two lesser-included charges of unlawful display of a weapon, as well as a lesser-included charge of fourth-degree assault, and a third count of unlawful display of a weapon, court records show.

He initially faced three counts of second-degree assault with firearm enhancements and potentially faced more than 10 years in prison. However, one of the charges was amended to unlawful display of a weapon during the trial, following testimony from one of the alleged victims, Rousseau’s attorney Todd Pascoe said in an interview Monday.

The jury reached its verdict in less than a half-hour, Pascoe said, and agreed Rousseau had acted in self-defense.

The incident happened Oct. 8, 2016.

Clark County sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after 2 a.m. to the park, 7792 N.E. 142nd Ave., after a caller reported that a man was pointing a gun at a group of people at the park. A witness to the altercation took a photo of Rousseau with the gun, and several people identified him as the armed suspect, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Rousseau told deputies at the time that a group of about 20 teens confronted him. He said they threatened and assaulted him, at which point he grabbed the weapon in self-defense, the affidavit states.

Pascoe said that when Rousseau testified, he didn’t deny pointing the firearm or hitting one of the teens. Rousseau testified he was punched three times before he struck back.