Mattawa man sentenced for pointing homemade gun at sister

MATTAWA — A Mattawa man was sentenced for pointing a homemade weapon at his sister and threatening to shoot her.

Malcom Engle Sr., 33, of Mattawa, pleaded guilty to harassment (domestic violence). Grant County Superior Court Judge David Estudillo followed a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Mark Laiminger and defense attorney Robert Kentner and sentenced Engle to 364 days in jail, with 258 days suspended for two years. Engle was initially charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, but the charge was dropped in a plea agreement between Laiminger and Kentner.

Engle’s sentence dates back to an incident on May 30, when the Grant County Sheriff’s Office received word of a physical domestic violence incident in the 30400 block of state Route 243, in Mattawa. The reporting party, identified as Engle’s sister, told deputies she was sitting in a shed with her mother on the SR-243 property when Engle went into an RV parked near the shed to use the restroom. Engle’s sister yelled into the RV, advising Engle the restroom was broken and to not use it, according to police records.

Engle became upset and opened the door to the shed, where his sister and mother were sitting on a bed. He pulled out a homemade gun, pointed it at his sister and told her he was going to shoot her. The victim described the weapon as a small piece of pipe that fires a bullet that is placed into the back of the weapon and the back is then screwed onto the pipe. She claimed she knew the gun was loaded and her brother had shown it to her a few days before he pointed it at her.

“Malcom pointed the weapon at her (his sister) and made threats to shoot her if she called the cops after forcing his way into the shed the first time he made threats to the victim,” wrote a deputy.

Engle’s mother gave deputies a similar account of the incident. She said she pleaded with her son to stop and he reportedly lowered his arms and the two women were able to get him out of the shed and lock the door. Engle attempted to get back into the shed and started kicking the door.

Engle’s sister said she thought Engle heard her on the phone with police, which prompted him to flee the area on foot. Mattawa Police Department officers spotted Engle walking west away from the property and followed him into a wildlife area. K-9 Grizzly and his handler, Deputy Dave De La Rosa, were dispatched to the scene and located the suspect hiding behind a row of Russian olive trees.

The homemade gun was located next to Engle when he was taken into custody. A certified range instructor with the sheriff’s office confirmed the weapon was capable of firing a round, according to police records.