‘Joe Biden defense’ trial underway

A trial began Thursday in a case against a Vancouver man who claimed he was taking Vice President Joe Biden’s advice on how to defend his property.

Jeffrey C. Barton, 53, made international news when he told journalists: “I did what Joe Biden told me to do. I went outside and fired my shotgun in the air.”

He did this at about 3 a.m. on July 15, 2013, when he was alerted by a neighbor to people rifling through his vehicles, parked in his driveway at 5804 N.E. 124th St. Barton chased the alleged prowlers, punched one of them in the face and fired three rounds from his shotgun into the air to scare off them off, according to accounts of the event.

Barton’s statement to reporters was a reference to the vice president’s answer to a question earlier that same year about home defense. Biden responded that Americans don’t need to own semiautomatic weapons, because a couple blasts from a shotgun will scare off intruders.

Barton was originally charged with illegally discharging a firearm, a misdemeanor, but prosecutors dismissed the weapons charge in August and instead charged Barton with obstructing a police officer.

The change in charges shifted the focus of the case to Barton’s actions when Clark County sheriff’s deputies arrived to the scene that witnesses called chaotic.

The six-person District Court trial began Thursday with opening statements and testimony from deputies, a neighbor and Barton himself.

Deputy Prosecutor Greg Harvey said that when deputies arrived to the reports of shots fired, Barton was angry and didn’t listen to police commands. Barton’s actions, he said, interfered with their ability to do their jobs.

Arriving law enforcement came upon a confusing scene. The Bartons previously had a lot of problems with a neighboring residence that they called a “meth house” — and that evening, there was a party at a different neighbor’s house, with witnesses saying there were 50 to 60 cars were parked along the streets.

After Barton had finished scaring off the suspected car prowlers with the gunfire, he returned his shotgun to his house and went outside to talk to neighbors. A car began fleeing the area, and Barton, with help from his neighbor and his son, blocked in the vehicle. Inside the vehicle was a group of people who were underage and had been drinking.

Deputies testified that the fact that shots were reportedly fired created a high-risk situation. When they arrived, they found several vehicles and people inside and outside the vehicles and commanded everyone to show their hands.

Deputy Tom Yoder contacted Barton, who was walking briskly toward him. He described Barton’s actions as “passive resistance.”

“He wouldn’t sit on the ground, and he was reaching behind his back,” Yoder said during the trial.

Yoder and Deputy Rob Ternus testified that they didn’t know if Barton was armed, and so the two worked to detain Barton for officer safety.

“Everyone complied, everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing — except for Mr. Barton,” Ternus said. “It slowed the whole thing down.”

Ivan “Jim” Bailey, Barton’s neighbor who helped block in the fleeing car, testified that he saw Barton grab Yoder, and that the two men ended up wrestling on the ground.

Barton’s attorney, Jesse Corkern, said that when Barton saw that police had arrived to a 911 call initiated by his family, he received “not a polite greeting from law enforcement.”

“They were aggressive, loud and vulgar at times,” he said.

Despite this, Corkern said, Barton never did anything aggressive toward law enforcement.

During his testimony, Barton stated that he walked toward police, but when he heard deputies yell “hands, hands, hands,” he dropped the flashlight he was holding and put his hands up.

“We’re talking chaos; it only got worse when they arrived,” Barton said. “There was so much screaming and Glocks pointed everywhere, it was a mess.”

He said he reached for his wallet in his back pocket.

“I thought if they knew who I was, it’d clear everything up, because I was the one who called them,” he said. “I’m not a pro at being arrested in a SWAT circumstance. … I called police for help; this isn’t what I expected.”

The trial continues today at 8:30 a.m. with continued testimony from Heather Barton, Jeffrey Barton’s wife.

Emily Gillespie: 360-735-4522; twitter.com/col_cops; emily.gillespie@columbian.com