Ex-trooper who fired gun out window gets deferred sentence

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - A retired trooper has pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in a public place and has received a deferred sentence.

The News Tribune reports (https://goo.gl/YFAlhc ) 59-year-old Michael Cassaday pleaded guilty Monday to discharging a firearm in a public place.

Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Hammond said the sentence, which means Cassaday won’t serve further jail time if he avoids trouble with the law, came out of Cassaday’s entry into alcohol dependency treatment and takes into account character references.

The head of the State Patrol and the King County prosecutor wrote letters on Cassaday’s behalf.

Charging papers say Cassaday and his son left a Bonney Lake movie theater July 29, and the son drove because he thought his father had too much to drink. They argued and Cassaday took a pistol from the glove compartment and fired it out the window.

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Information from: The News Tribune, https://www.thenewstribune.com