East Bremerton resident James Justin Mort, 31, of 1025 McWilliams Road, has been charged in Kitsap County Superior Court with second-degree assault, with a domestic violence enhancement, and possession of a stolen firearm.
According to court documents, Mort got into a physical altercation with his father Dec. 12 and at one point aimed a silver and black semi-automatic handgun with a laser sight at his dad’s head and yelled, “I could blow you away right now!”
Mort’s father later called 911 at about 8:40 p.m. to report that a shotgun his son had sold him six months earlier was likely stolen. When a Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the residence, police say Mort fled on foot into the woods south of the residence after seeing the deputy’s approach on a video surveillance system. Mort allegedly also grabbed a soft rifle case and a backpack with a stolen semi-automatic rifle and a stolen semi-automatic handgun.
The deputy spoke to Mort’s father and learned about the physical altercation, threat and subsequent flight from the residence. The deputy also confirmed that the shotgun the father had called about, a Maverick 12 gauge, pump-action shotgun was, reported stolen on Nov. 17, 2010, from an address in the 200 block of NE Paulson Road in Poulsbo.
Backup was called for and the sheriff’s office requested assistance from Washington State Patrol aircraft and Smokey 4 ultimately responded. Using its FLIR (forward looking infrared imaging system), Smokey 4 directed deputies to Mort who was hiding in brush off of NE Beaumont Lane, in the Blueberry Meadows neighborhood off of Pine Road NE.
Mort was taken into custody without further incident and was armed with the rifle and handgun as reported. Both of these turned out to be previously reported stolen as well. The rifle, a Smith & Wesson MP15 .223 caliber semi-automatic was reported stolen May 7, 2012, from an address in the 3000 block of Rocky Point Road NW. The stolen handgun was a FNP 9 mm semi-automatic that was reported stolen Sept. 26, 2011, from the trunk of a parked vehicle in a commercial parking garage located at Burwell Street and Pacific Avenue in Bremerton.
