A neighbor has been jailed after allegedly pointing a rifle at a family putting up Christmas lights.
The family was putting up Christmas lights at their home in Umatilla on Wednesday when the mother looked up and saw their next door neighbor, 66-year-old Randy Cronk, looking at them through a rifle scope, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman told deputies she feared Cronk was going to shoot “her and and her family,” the report said.
He initially fled the area in a white Chevy truck but deputies later found him back at his home at 17540 SE 260th Avenue Road. He admitted he had pointed the weapon at the family, but described it as a “very old BB gun that does not work anymore.” He said he heard noise coming from his neighbors’ home and was “being nosy” and wanted to see what they were doing. Cronk produced an “older Daisy .22-pellet gun” and the deputy noted in the report it was “still able to pump properly.”
Cronk was arrested on three counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. He was booked at the Marion County Jail and released after posting $1,500 bond.
