PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man arrested Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly waved a gun at a man in his former workplace on Monday will be back in Clallam County Superior Court today for the prosecuting attorney’s office to file formal charges.
Kristopher S. Morales, 47, of Port Angeles remained Thursday in Clallam County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on one count of investigation of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of investigation of felony harassment.
He was not accused of first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm as stated on the jail roster.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Lauren Erickson said she understood Morales was in a stressful situation, but to keep the public safe, she was going to set bail at $100,000 as recommended by the prosecuting attorney.
“It’s great that you have some job interviews lined up. We’ll work with your schedule so you don’t miss those (two job) interviews,” Erickson said.
According to the probable cause statement filed Wednesday in Clallam County Superior Court, Morales had been fired from Westport Marine and, after an argument with his girlfriend, stole her gun and drove to Westport about 3:15 p.m. Monday to “take care of business” as she had urged him to.
He told a current employee who confronted him at the door to the Westport building that he was there for “revenge,” the documents stated.
He also talked about his fixation with the boss who had fired him as well as taking photos of the person’s vehicle before going back to his truck, retrieving a five-shot revolver with hollow-point bullets and turning it over to the employee.
“(The employee) believed the gun was loaded but did not know how to open it. (The employee) appeared very upset and nervous about the incident,” the document stated.
Defense attorney Harry Gasnick said in court Wednesday that Morales had said he was drunk and told the employee who disarmed him, “Don’t let me have this until I’ve sobered up.”
On Tuesday, Westport management called the Port Angeles police, who interviewed the employee who confronted Morales. Undercover police later followed Morales until uniformed police could arrest him, the court documents stated.
After some discussion during Wednesday’s session among the judge and attorneys regarding the meaning of terms such as “revenge” and the facts that Morales had been drinking and had surrendered the gun and left prior to confronting the boss he was after, it was agreed that formal charges would be presented at 1 p.m. today.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@peninsula dailynews.com.