The county man who had a brief stand-off with sheriff’s deputies
at his Ridgemark residence has been charged in court and was
released on bail Sunday, according to records.
The county man who had a brief stand-off with sheriff’s deputies at his Ridgemark residence has been charged in court and was released on bail Sunday, according to records.
Walter Hitchcock, 76, was arrested May 10 after investigators allege he threatened to kill his wife and later refused deputies’ orders to leave his house, before firing a round from his rifle – pointed at his chin – while moving the gun at the last moment and firing into the air.
The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday charged Hitchcock on suspicion of three felonies – threatening a crime with intent to terrorize, exhibiting a firearm in the presence of a peace officer and willful discharge of a firearm in a negligent manner – along with a misdemeanor of resisting or obstructing officers.
A judge had set his bail at $50,000, and Hitchcock was released Sunday, according to the county jail.
Deputies responded Tuesday to the 1000 block of Sonnys Way in the Ridgemark gated community after a report of a man pointing a gun at his wife and threatening to kill her. When they arrived, the woman had gone to a neighbor’s house and deputies made contact with her. She informed investigators that the man, Walter Hitchcock, had “several” guns and was acting “irrational,” according to a spokesman for the office.
The five deputies at the scene staged behind their cars and asked Hitchcock to come out of the house. He responded with continued profanities and by giving them the middle finger. Authorities negotiated with the man before he stood in the doorway holding a rifle, one of nine confiscated after the incident. Deputies ordered him to put down his gun and told him to come out and talk, according to authorities.
He then pointed the rifle toward his chin and shot a round, but moved “at the last second,” sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Roy Iler said. Deputies initially thought he had shot himself as he fell to the ground and dropped the gun. As they approached him with firearms drawn, he sat up, pointed his fingers at them and said “bang, bang, bang,” Iler said. He also lunged toward one of the officers’ firearms. That deputy moved away and another one tased the suspect, according to the office.
