An Brule man is facing charges after an incident in Brule involving a gun.
Deputies were called to the Kro-Bar in Brule shortly before midnight Friday on a report of three people fighting. A deputy nearby heard a gunshot coming from the area of the bar as the bartender was calling back to 911 stating one of the parties involved went out to the parking lot and armed himself with a handgun. The bartender reported that all patrons were in the bar and she locked the door, and the suspect was the only person in the parking lot.
Deputy Brian Witt approached the parking lot and observed a person rummaging through a pickup truck next to the bar entrance. The subject emerged from the truck with a club and began pounding on the front door of the bar.
Witt ordered the subject to the ground, and he was taken into custody.
According to witness statements, two men were having a conversation in the bar, which was overheard by the suspect, later identified as Sean Pierce, 45, Oulu. Pierce approached the men indicating his displeasure with their topic of conversation. The confrontation became physical. The three were separated but started up again soon after.
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Pierce left the bar, followed by the bartender who was bringing him his cell phone that he left on the bar. When the bartender observed him taking a handgun from the center console of his truck, she quickly returned to the bar and locked the door. A shot was heard. Patrons went to the window and observed Pierce approach the window and point the weapon at the people he had been fighting with. Several people ran for cover in the basement.
Shortly after this, Witt arrived on scene.
Pierce was taken into custody and medically cleared to the Douglas County Jail where he was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony. He was also charged with four misdemeanors - intentionally point a firearm at a person, endanger safety with use of a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer - in Douglas County Circuit Court.
A preliminary hearing is set for July 5. Cash bail was set at $5,000.
