Man sentenced for brandishing gun outside bar

A Vancouver man who brandished a gun at a crowd outside a tavern was sentenced Monday in Clark County Superior Court to a year in custody.

Edward E. Frye, 42, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the Nov. 1 incident outside the Quarterdeck Tavern in Vancouver.

Police responded shortly before 2 a.m. to the tavern at 4300 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd. to a report of shots fired, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Three people, identified in court records as Joshua Livingston, Brian Laven and Kasey Bay, said Frye pointed a gun at them before he fired off a couple of shots into the air, the affidavit said. Frye then left the scene.

Police said they found a shell casing outside the tavern and later found Frye’s car about a block away. Police saw a shell casing matching the one in the parking lot inside Frye’s car, court records said.

During his hearing, Frye’s court-appointed defense attorney, Charles Buckley, said his client had been assaulted inside the tavern and went outside and grabbed the gun.

Judge Robert Lewis agreed to sentence Frye to 12 months in prison and 12 months of community custody. Frye is also to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and any necessary treatment.

“It could have ended a lot worse,” Lewis told Frye.