Port Angeles man charged with firing AR-15 into residence

PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man has been charged with firing multiple rounds with an AR-15 into his neighbor’s occupied residence.

Gregory E. Casad, 40, has been charged in Clallam County District Court with single counts of reckless endangerment and aiming or discharging a firearm in connection with a Wednesday-morning incident on the 500 block of West Fifth Street.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Port Angeles police said Casad fired about five rounds from his residence at 525 W. Fifth St. into the air at about 2:40 a.m. Wednesday.

One of the bullets entered the upstairs bedroom of another residence where a child was sleeping, Officer Luke Brown said in an arrest report.

No one was injured in the shooting, police said.

Witnesses reported hearing about five shots. One witness told police that Casad shot several rounds into the air while standing on his front lawn.

Police found four spent shell casings in the front yard of Casad’s residence and another spent casing on a sidewalk, court papers said.

“As the investigation has continued, we discovered what appeared to be bullet holes in the house across the street,” deputy Chief of Police Jason Viada said Thursday.

Casad told police that he had been shooting at a burglar and that someone had been moving things inside his house, according to Brown’s report.

Casad resisted arrest, repeatedly shouted “record!” and head-butted a parked truck as he was being detained, Brown said.

Brown said he spoke with four residents who live at 538 W. Fifth St. later on Wednesday.

“I learned that all four of them had been home, asleep, on the second floor of the house last night,” Brown wrote.

“All four of them told me that they were scared and concerned.”

A girl was sleeping in a bedroom just north of the place a bullet exited the residence, Brown said.

The witnesses “specifically talked about how (the girl’s) bedroom was so close to the bullet’s flight path,” Brown said.

Police recommended a second-degree felony assault charge against Brown.

Reckless endangerment and aiming or discharging a firearm are gross misdemeanors.

“Casad had stated that he was shooting at prowlers and had fired his rifle towards an occupied residence,” Brown added.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.