Casper Man Arrested for Firing Gun During Fight, Endangering Baby
A man who allegedly fired a pistol during a fight, sending a bullet within roughly three feet of a sleeping baby, was arrested late Thursday on three criminal charges.
Braydon Lavoy Stringham, 24, was booked into jail on recommended charges of reckless endangerment, child endangerment and battery. He will likely make his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court at 2 p.m. Friday.
Charging papers say Casper police officers responded to an address on South Washington Street for a report of a weapons offense at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday. The man who reported the incident said a gun had been fired and a man had threatened to kill another man.
Officers arrived to find Stringham, and then found a Smith and Wesson SD40 pistol. Police determined Stringham was responsible for firing the pistol inside the home, and arrested him.
The victim, 20-year-old Trenton Summers, was interviewed at the Casper police department. He told investigators he was with his brother -- Stringham -- at the home on South Washington Street, drinking whisky and playing video games.
According to court documents, Summers said he started "messing with" Stringham and telling him "he wasn't tough." The two began "rough housing," and a fight ensued.
Stringham and Summers ended up going to the ground, where Stringham punched Summers in the face, according to Summers. The two stood back up and, while Summers went outside to have a cigarette, Stringham got up and said, "I'm gonna kill you," before going to get the gun.
When Summers went back inside the home, Stringham was pointing the pistol at him. Summers told police he went into "survival mode" and ran towards Stringham, pushing his arms up so the pistol wasn't pointed at him. Summers said he heard the gunshot, then left the home and went to his grandparents' house on South Conwell Street.
Summers told police that he thought he was going to die when he saw Stringham pointing the pistol at him.
Investigators determined the bullet went through a television in the living room and continued through the wall behind the TV into a bedroom, where a nine-month-old was sleeping in a crib. The bullet reportedly passed about three feet away from the crib, finally being stopped inside the exterior wall by the exterior aluminum siding.
Stringham was also interviewed at the police department. When asked whether he knew why he was being interviewed, Stringham allegedly replied, "Jack Daniels."
He allegedly went on to detail the fight, and admit to retrieving the pistol before firing it. He said he did not remember much of what happened.