Bail has been set at $50,000 for a Centralia man arrested Sunday night for allegedly pulling a gun on a woman and threatening to kill another person at a residence in the 300 block of Tower Avenue.
Blade C. Cope is accused of holding a gun to a woman’s stomach during an argument and threatening to “blow a hole through” her, according to court documents. The victim reportedly fled the Tower Avenue residence and flagged down friends outside for help. At least two friends responded to help the victim, and one of them later reported that Cope “pulled out a gun and slammed it on the passenger seat of the car” and threatened to kill another friend who had arrived at the scene.
Centralia police officers arrived and contacted Cope, who initially denied unholstering his gun during the argument but later changed his story to say that “he did unholster it, but held it by his hip.”
Cope allegedly admitted to putting the gun on the passenger seat of the car when the victim’s friends arrived.
According to court documents, “officers noticed that when answering questions about the gun, Cope would not look them in the eyes, was sweating despite wearing a T-shirt in cool temperatures, and took time clearing his throat regarding these questions alone.”
Officers retrieved the gun from Cope’s mother’s gun safe and found that it contained a full magazine, but had no bullet in the chamber. Cope had reportedly denied that the gun was loaded.
Cope has been charged with one count each of second-degree assault, domestic violence, and harassment, threat to kill. The most serious charge, second-degree assault, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to $20,000 in fines.
“It’s lucky nobody was very seriously injured, but it could have gone much worse,” said Deputy Prosecutor Silvia Irimescu at Cope’s preliminary appearance on April 26. Irimescu requested that Judge James W. Lawler set the relatively-high secured bail amount, citing concerns about community safety.
“The state is very concerned about his ability to possibly intimidate witnesses and it seems that he is a danger to community safety and possibly a danger to himself,” Irimescu said.
While Cope’s defense attorney, Rachael Tiller, pointed out that Cope has no prior felony history and requested that Cope be released, Lawler granted Irimescu’s request.
“I think that’s more than reasonable given the allegations here,” said Lawler. “Community safety is definitely the issue here.”
Cope is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on Thursday, April 29.
