A Cougar man was sentenced Monday for shooting at four people with an air gun along Lewis River Road in 2023.
Terry J. Becker, 58, was sentenced to six months in Cowlitz County Jail. A jury found him guilty Friday on four of the six charges he was facing, which included second-degree assault, two counts of malicious mischief and reckless endangerment. He was found not guilty on another count of second-degree assault and felony harassment.
Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Thad Scudder signed no-contact orders to protect victims during the Monday hearing.
People started reporting they were being shot it in the small community in July 2023. No injuries were reported. One of the first reported victims was a woman who drove through Cougar, near the Cougar Store at 16842 Lewis River Rd., on July 29, 2023, according to a police report. She said her car was struck by a projectile that left a mark on her car door.
On Aug. 14, 2023, a driver reported he and his passenger were shot at near the Cougar Bar and Grill at 16849 Lewis River Rd. The driver told the deputy his truck was struck with a BB, but didn’t know which direction the shot came from.
The passenger told authorities the door next to him was struck and that the event “frightened him severely,” the police report states.
A deputy was then dispatched to another report in the 16800 block of Lewis River Road two days later. Arresting documents say Becker’s neighbor told authorities he was shot at from across the road. When he looked he saw Becker hiding behind his truck with a black rifle.
The neighbor told the deputy Becker would shoot at passing cars and took more shots at him the following day, the documents state.
When arriving at Becker’s residence, a deputy reported spotting a Crosman pellet gun lying on a chair in an open carport. After deputies took photos and grabbed the pellet gun, Becker was detained and taken to the Cowlitz County Jail.
While en route to the Cowlitz County Jail, Becker said he wasn’t trying to shoot across the highway, he was trying to shoot birds in a tree between Becker’s residence and his neighbor. He also complained about people speeding in the area, the report states.
