Charges reduced in Vancouver gun-pointing incident

A charge against a Vancouver man accused of pointing a revolver at a witness who was reporting his actions to 911 has been reduced from felony first-degree assault to misdemeanor unlawful display of a weapon. The witness saw the man pointing a gun at some teenage girls near a Safeway grocery store in Vancouver, according to court papers.

The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the felony assault charge against William J. Hall, 47, on Nov. 3. The misdemeanor charge was then filed Dec. 5 in Clark County District Court. The maximum sentence for the misdemeanor is one year in jail or a $5,000 fine.

Hall is set to be arraigned on the new charge Dec. 18.

Witnesses called 911 shortly before 10 p.m. Oct. 31 to report a man pointing a .357 chrome revolver at two teenage girls in the roadway near a Safeway grocery store at 2615 N.E. 112th Ave. When one of the witnesses stopped and got out of his car to call the authorities, Hall allegedly pointed the gun at the witness.

“I thought he was going to shoot me,” the witness, Patrick Lenhart, 38, said, according court papers.

Vancouver police were unable to locate the girls involved in the incident.

Hall said he took his revolver out of his glove box when he saw the teenagers trying to get into his car. He said one of the teenagers was armed with a hammer, court papers say.