Vancouver man gets 3 years for felony harassment-death threats

A judge Wednesday sentenced a Vancouver man who fired a rifle during a dispute with a neighboring business and prompted an hourslong police standoff near Hazel Dell to three years in prison.

James A. Froehlich, 49, pleaded guilty in July to one count each of felony harassment-death threats and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from the November 2017 incident. He originally faced two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of felony harassment-death threats and six counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Froehlich was arrested after walking into Narith Machine, 10507 N.E. 50th Ave., carrying a rifle and making death threats toward an employee inside. The victim and another man escaped; both said they heard Froehlich fire a few shots as he walked away, according to court records.

Froehlich returned to his nearby house, where he barricaded himself inside for hours while Clark County sheriff’s deputies attempted to talk to him.

He was eventually arrested without incident.

On Wednesday, Froehlich and his attorney described a gradual descent into severe mental illness — specifically, paranoia, anxiety and delusional thoughts — that started after a back injury years ago, which also led to Froehlich losing his job and abusing opioids.

“I just hurt. It drove me crazy,” he said. “My life was together until this accident.”

Froehlich was convicted in 1988 of manslaughter and attempted murder in Klamath County, Ore., according to the prosecution.

Clark County Superior Court Judge Bernard Veljacic said, if convicted on the original charges, Froehlich would have faced substantially more time than what was offered in the plea agreement — considering the seriousness of his crime and criminal history.