Edmund Drew

A Powell man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly threatened a family member with a gun.

Charging documents allege Edmund A. Drew used a pistol to break out the window of his son-in-law’s truck, then pointed the unloaded weapon at the man’s head and pulled the trigger; Drew’s adult daughter and young grandchild were also in the vehicle at the time of the altercation, the documents say.

Drew, who is 50, faces a felony count of aggravated assault for allegedly threatening to use a drawn deadly weapon and a misdemeanor of property destruction for the broken window.

At a Tuesday hearing in Park County Circuit Court, Drew’s son-in-law said the incident stemmed from a decades-old brain injury that makes it hard for Drew to control himself; he asked for Drew to be released, saying he needs medical care rather than incarceration.

After hearing the comments, Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Laura Newton requested and Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah ordered a competency evaluation. In the meantime, however, Darrah agreed with the prosecution that Drew’s bail should be set at $25,000 cash.

While a medical issue may have caused the incident, “I don’t have confidence it’s not going to happen again,” Darrah said. 

Drew remained in the Park County Detention Center on Wednesday.

According to information compiled by Park County Sheriff’s Cpl. Tyler Patterson in an affidavit, the incident occurred shortly before 2:45 p.m. Saturday.

Both Drew and his son-in-law told the deputy that they’d gotten into a verbal argument that escalated into a physical altercation.

Drew said his son-in-law threw him to the ground and shoved him with a pickaxe; Drew said he then threw a metal rod at his son-in-law, according to Patterson’s recounting of the conversation. In court on Tuesday, the son-in-law said that, while he didn’t want to, he “had to throw him [Drew] around” after Drew “lost it.” In his account to the deputy, the son-in-law reportedly said Drew threw the ax at him and hit him with the metal rod.

Following that scrap, which occurred in Drew’s garage, Drew retrieved a Springfield 10mm XD pistol from his house and confronted his son-in-law again.

“Edmund Drew stated he knew the firearm was unloaded and treats it as a threatening prop,” Patterson wrote.

According to both men’s reported accounts, Drew used the pistol to break out the window of his son-in-law’s vehicle and pointed the weapon at his head.

“Shoot me,” the son-in-law reportedly responded.

He then heard a click that sounded like “a trigger being pulled with no bullet firing,” the affidavit says.

After that, the son-in-law — who had both his wife and school age child in the truck with him — sped off, backing into and hitting two other vehicles in the process, charging documents say of his account. A neighbor called law enforcement at 2:46 p.m., prompting a response from both the sheriff’s office and Powell police.

Drew was taken into custody around 4:10 p.m.

In court on Tuesday, Drew’s son-in-law called the incident “a bad situation” that “shouldn’t have happened.” He called Drew “a wonderful man” and, citing the brain injury, said the incident wasn’t Drew’s fault.

“... I don’t need the courts imposing unfair judgments on him [Drew] when this can be resolved with other matters than incarceration,” the son-in-law said.

Drew’s daughter added that it was an isolated incident, saying her father is not a danger or a flight risk; Drew apparently has no prior criminal history outside a traffic ticket.

However, Newton remained concerned, noting the comments about Drew struggling with impulse control.

“I’m not comfortable saying that he’s not a risk,” she said.

Darrah agreed, saying that while he wants Drew to get needed help, he has concerns about public safety.

“... Probably this is out of character for him, but something happened, and this is serious,” Darrah said.

The judge said he might reconsider the $25,000 bond if a safety plan is put in place, “so we have some assurance that this kind of a situation isn’t going to arise again.”

“I totally understand,” Drew responded.

During the hearing, Darrah also suggested that prosecutors should consider “a different civil method for this,” seemingly referring to a Title 25 proceeding. That civil process involves having a person detained and hospitalized when they’re determined to pose a threat to themselves or others as a result of mental illness.

A preliminary hearing in the criminal case is tentatively set for Oct. 22.