ML man charged in gun-waving incident

MOSES LAKE — Court records indicate the gun a Moses Lake man pointed at his head and threatened to shoot himself with on Monday was loaded with a bullet in the chamber.

Grant County prosecutors charged Brent McKinney, 31, of Moses Lake, with second-degree unlawful possession of firearm and third-degree assault.

About 9:30 p.m. the Moses Lake Police Department received a report of a subject, McKinney, leaving his residence on West Marina Drive stating he was going to shoot himself. An MLPD officer located McKinney walking on West Broadway Avenue with a pistol and started to slowly drive behind him, according to court documents.

McKinney was given instructions to put the weapon down, but he reportedly refused to comply and at one point held the gun up against his head. More MLPD officers arrived in the area to provide assistance and block traffic. McKinney still did not comply with directives and continued to waive the gun around.

“I retrieved my less lethal shotgun from the trunk of my car while (another MLPD officer) got into my driver('s) seat. (The other officer) drove my car while I walked beside it using it as cover. I was attempting to get close enough to take a shot at Brent with my less lethal shotgun and hopefully cause him to drop the gun,” wrote a officer.

McKinney eventually stopped walking, threw the gun down, got onto the ground and was taken into custody.

“Brent was extremely upset. Brent was essentially begging us to shoot and kill him. I informed Brent we were not going to do that. He then said something along the lines of what if I do something. I told him we were not going to shoot him. Brent then kicked me about three times in my right leg,” wrote a officer.

McKinney was placed into the back of a patrol car, where he reportedly started thrashing about and ended up banging his head and receiving a cut on his forehead. A criminal history check revealed McKinney is a convicted felon with two previous felony convictions for theft of a firearm and first-degree burglary.

The gun McKinney was holding, a 9mm Ruger, was found to have been stolen during a mid-June vehicle prowl in Moses Lake. In addition, officers learned the gun was loaded with a bullet in the chamber and eight bullets in the magazine.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.