Daily Sitka Sentinel

Two Men Arrested After Shot Fired in Sitka Bar

By Sentinel Staff
    Two men were arrested and jailed on felony charges after a pistol was fired in the men’s restroom of the Pioneer Bar Sunday afternoon.
    No one was injured by the lone shot that was fired shortly after 4 p.m.
    Richard J. Davis, 55, of Juneau and Tyler Westlund, 22, of Port Townsend, Wash., have been held in jail since they were arraigned Monday before Judge David George.
    The two men appeared in court at a 1:15 p.m. hearing today, and Magistrate Leonard Devaney set a bail hearing for 1 p.m. Friday. Davis is charged with assault in the third and fourth degrees and misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree and fifth degree. Westlund is charged with tampering with physical evidence, a Class C felony.
    Witnesses in the busy Katlian Street bar told police Sunday that Davis fired a gun after following Keith Widmyer into the men’s restroom and starting a fight.
    Widmyer, who has lived in Sitka the last few years, told police that he was at a urinal when Davis hit him in the face without warning, and the men began fighting, ending up on the floor. Widmyer said he fled the restroom when Davis pulled a black pistol from his waistband, and that he heard the gunshot as he was running out.
    Bartender Rita Ledbetter told police she had witnessed the fight and heard the gunshot while turning to call 911.
    Police said they found a bullet hole in the vinyl covering of the restroom’s concrete floor, and recovered the bullet that apparently was the one fired. Police Lt. Barry Allen said no shell casing was found, and the type of weapon won’t be known until the deformed bullet is sent for forensic testing.
    Widmyer told police that he knew Davis from a long-standing feud. After the shot went off, a man – later identified as Westlund –  ran out of the bar. Police reports said Ledbetter prevented Davis from leaving the restroom until the officers arrived.
    Police allege that after firing the shot Davis gave the gun to Westlund, who is a deck hand on Davis’ boat, F/V West Bank.
    Police said that during questioning Davis denied firing a gun, but said he had set off a seal bomb in the restroom. He told police that they could find Westlund on the F/V West Bank in ANB Harbor, which is located across the street from the bar.
    Police immediately went to the West Bank, where they saw Westlund inside the vessel and then leaving through the rear door. Westlund did not have the gun, and denied any knowledge of it, police said. Police obtained a search warrant for the boat, but did not find the gun, Allen said.
    Allen said a dive team searched the water under the boat and around the surrounding area Sunday and Monday without finding the weapon.
    Police said they found a bullet hole in the restroom floor consistent with the report of the shooting, and no evidence of a seal bomb explosion. Seal bombs are used by fishermen to scare away seals and other mammals and the sale of the explosives is regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
    The third degree assault charge against Davis is related to brandishing a gun, and the fourth degree assault charge is for the alleged punch in the bathroom, according to the court documents. The fourth degree weapons charge is for firing the gun and the fifth degree weapons charge is for having it in the bar in the first place, which is prohibited by Alaska law.
    Davis is listed as a member of the NSRAA board of directors and is active in other fisheries organizations including the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association.
    The weapons charges and the fourth-degree assault are misdemeanors and the other assault charge is a Class C felony.
    Alaska does not require a license to possess a gun or carry it concealed, except in such places as bars and banks, Allen said.