Moses Lake man sentenced for trespassing

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man who pointed a gun at a man whom he believed had stolen his mail received a jail sentence for trespassing.

Todd Gremler, 29, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to first-degree criminal trespassing and was sentenced to a total of 364 days of confinement in the Grant County Jail, with 344 days suspended for two years.

The sentence relates to a Feb. 25 incident when the Moses Lake Police Department responded to a report of an attempted robbery in the 700 block of South Dahlia Drive. The victim in the incident told police a man, Gremler, had burglarized his trailer and pointed a gun at him, according to court documents.

After the incident in question Gremler left the trailer and went into a residence at the same property. Police surrounded the home and Gremler left the house without forth incident. Police questioned Gremler and the suspect admitted to pulling a gun on the victim. He said he pulled the gun because the victim wouldn’t let him inside his home. Gremler went on to reverse course and claimed he only placed his hand on the gun and never pulled the weapon out.

“Gremler told me earlier in the week he had some mail go missing and he believed (the victim) stole it,” wrote a MLPD officer.

Gremler said he went into the victim’s trailer and found his mail inside. After confirming with the victim that Gremler had pulled out a handgun, a MLPD re-contacted Gremler and, using a ruse, asked him why he lied about pulling the gun. The officer also said a witness saw him point the handgun at the victim, after which Gremler admitted to pointing a Ruger. 45 at the victim “for a quick second.”

Officers obtained a search warrant for the residence Gremler went into and recovered the victim’s cellphone on the kitchen counter.

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