Man Shoots At Neighbor During Fence Dispute And Gets Arrested

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — A neighbor dispute nearly turned deadly Tuesday when an argument escalated to gunfire, resulting in one person's arrest. No injuries were reported.

William Salisbury Johnson, 57, was arraigned Wednesday in Pierce County on charges of second-degree assault and felony harassment, according to court records obtained by Patch.

Johnson is accused of firing a shotgun in the general direction of his neighbor on July 23, concluding what had been a day-long dispute over the construction of a fence along their shared property line, court records show.

Pierce County deputies were initially dispatched to the property after 4 p.m., following an argument between the neighbors regarding a fence Johnson was building. Johnson reportedly told the deputies his neighbor had been harassing the workers he'd contracted for the fence job, and that the neighbor had called Johnson out to come next door and fight about it.

Deputies said it appeared the neighbor had been day drinking.

The neighbors were reportedly advised to leave each other alone and to call police if any other problems came up. Deputies left the property just before 5 p.m., court records show.

A few hours later, just before 8 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the property again after receiving a report of shots fired and someone shouting, "You're going to die."

Deputies met first with Johnson, who cooperated, documents show. Informing the deputies he had two shotguns at either entrance to his home and a handgun in his bedroom, Johnson explained he'd fired one of the shotguns when his neighbor approached his backdoor.

Fearing for his safety, Johnson said he shouted at his neighbor before he fired one round from the shotgun in an attempt to frighten the man, who Johnson estimated was about 10 feet away; then he called 911.

When asked if the neighbor had threatened him since deputies were there earlier, Johnson said, "No," but that he feared for his safety based on previous threats — noting once again, however, that no threats were made in the moments immediately preceding the warning shot.

Johnson then told deputies he had home security cameras and caught the whole event on video, which he then shared with deputies.

What the deputies saw is shown in the report as follows:

It is described as a camera angle which showed the top of (Johnson's) patio roof, backyard, fence line, and the (neighbor victim's) backyard and house. The defendant (Johnson) can be heard yelling, "Get off my property before I blow your f------- head off."

The defendant then says, "Get out of here."

The victim can be heard to say, "I'm just trying to be cool."

The defendant replies, "No, you're not cool, you're an idiot" and "Get your f------ dog off my property before I f------ shoot it, you're gonna die motherf-----."

The victim can then be seen walking back onto his property. The defendant then yells, "You're responsible for this s--- show, you're an a------ from hell. You are gonna diiieee, and I'm gonna be responsible for your death on my property motherf-----."
The deputy notes it sounds like the victim says, "Don't point it" just before a shot is heard.

A female voice yells, "Jesus Christ!"

The defendant yells again, "Get off my property you motherf-----."

While interviewing the neighbor, who had not seen the video, deputies were told a story that more closely aligned with the security camera evidence, court records show.

The neighbor said he'd walked next door to Johnson's home around 7:30 p.m. "to make amends" for his intoxicated behavior earlier in the day. When he knocked on the backdoor, the neighbor said Johnson came out with his shotgun in-hand and threatened to shoot him.

The neighbor said he put his hands up and walked back toward his property while Johnson shouted threats. When he got to the property line, the neighbor said he turned and saw Johnson was still pointing the shotgun in his direction. Moments later, Johnson fired.

The neighbor told deputies, "He felt the 'whoosh' of pellets going above his head."

The neighbor then reportedly admitted to having been day drinking, and noted "this may have been a factor in the escalating tensions between them."

During his arraignment July 24, Johnson was directed not to contact his neighbor during the court proceedings. A trial is tentatively set for Oct. 8.