A Sitka grand jury has indicted two men on charges related to shooting firearms in the direction of a dwelling. Jarred A Davidson was indicted for assault in the third degree and Charles Watson Grogan III was indicted for misconduct involving a firearm.
25-year-old Jarred A. Davidson was also indicted for tampering with physical evidence. He was arrested September 30th after he chased down another man and shot a revolver in his direction around Sawmill Creek Plaza.
According to court documents, Davidson allegedly stopped a man riding his bicycle on Prince Street on September 30th. Approaching him from a nearby bus stop in the company of another witness, he told the man to get off his bike and brandished a gun.
The man then fled toward Sawmill Creek Plaza for fear for his safety. He later told police that Davidson chased him and fired one round in his direction. That shot went in the same direction as businesses and apartments within the Plaza building.
Hearing the shot, a resident called the Sitka Police Department around 7:50 p.m. Eventually, police officers made contact with the victim. Officers caught up with the two suspects and detained them.
Police searched the area behind Sawmill Creek Plaza and found a stainless steel .41 caliber Ruger revolver with wooden grips under a child’s backpack behind a pallet. The revolver had one spent cartridge and two unfired rounds in the cylinder. A background check revealed the gun was not reported as stolen.
Once detained, Davidson and the other man cooperated fully with Sitka police. They admitted to approaching the victim and acknowledged that Davidson had pulled a revolver from his waistband while doing so. Davidson also admitted to firing the gun in the direction of the victim and later discarding it where officers had found it. The spent bullet was not recovered.
Davidson made bail, but was re-arrested on October 11th for violating conditions of release. During that arrest, he tested positive for meth and opiates.
Sitka Grand Jury also indicted a man on charges of misconduct involving a weapon in the second degree. 28-year-old Charles Watson Grogan III fired a rifle through the ceiling of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment into the apartment of her neighbor above.
According to court documents, that neighbor called Sitka police just after 2 am on September 22nd, 2018 to report the gunshot
When officers arrived, they made contact with Grogan III and his ex-girlfriend. Initially, Grogan told officers his .35 caliber Whelen rifle had mistakenly discharged. But his ex-girlfriend told a different story and said the gun went off during a dispute over their relationship.
Officers also noted two bullet holes: one on the ceiling of the ground-floor apartment and another on the north wall of the building. According to court documents, the bullet entered the top apartment through the kitchen floor and passed through the ceiling above the sink. Police officers also noted shrapnel damage in the top apartment. Damage to the wall, floors and ceilings is estimated to exceed $750 dollars.
Grogan was arrested for reckless endangerment and misconduct involving a weapon that evening.
UPDATE, November 26, 2019: On 6-19-20 Sitka Superior Court convicted Charles W. Grogan III on 2 counts of reckless endangerment, and firing recklessly — all Class A misdemeanors. He was also convicted on one charge of firing a gun at a building, a Class B felony. He is currently serving probation in supervised custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections.
Update 2/21/23: Davidson ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of assault in the fourth degree, a Class A Misdemeanor, and the other two assault charges were dismissed by the prosecution.
