Camas City Council member John Svilarich appeared Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court to face an assault charge stemming from an August confrontation with a fisherman.
Svilarich, 66, appeared on a summons for second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. A judge ordered he be booked at the Clark County Jail and then placed on supervised release. He’s also prohibited from possessing firearms while the case is pending. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 14.
Svilarich’s defense attorney, Jon McMullen, called him a “pillar of the community” in Camas. He said Svilarich walks the Washougal River Greenway every day with his dog and his friend, the one with him on the day of the confrontation. He said Svilarich does not know the fisherman and likely couldn’t pick the man out of a lineup.
“I’d suggest, respectfully, he’s not a danger to anyone,” McMullen said of his client.
Camas police responded at 7:52 a.m. Aug. 31 to reports of a brandishing near the Washougal River Greenway. A man called 911 to report someone, later identified as Svilarich, threw a rock off the pedestrian bridge and it landed near him. He said Svilarich later pointed a gun at him, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The caller said he’d been fishing on the south bank of the Washougal River when Svilarich began yelling at him about a discarded cigarette butt. They both yelled and swore at each other, he said. Svilarich and his friend then walked away and over the pedestrian bridge, court records state.
Another witness said they saw Svilarich look over the railing of the bridge a few times before a 6- to 8-inch rock fell roughly 50 feet from the bridge. The man said the rock landed about 5 feet from him, according to the affidavit.
The men continued to argue, and the fisherman approached Svilarich. The affidavit states the men confronted each other before Svilarich pulled a handgun and pointed it at the fisherman.
The fisherman said he then retreated back toward the river, and he looked back to see Svilarich walking away, alternating between pointing the gun at him and at the ground, according to court records.
Police said Svilarich’s friend also told them Svilarich pulled out a gun and pointed it in the direction of the fisherman. But he couldn’t say whether the gun was pointed directly at the fisherman, the affidavit said.
During a police interview, Svilarich originally said he didn’t have a gun, but then he later allegedly said he did. Even later, he said he pulled it out but had it at a “low ready” position to protect himself. He denied pointing it at the fisherman. Officers said he has a concealed pistol license, according to court records.
Svilarich also allegedly admitted to throwing the rock, but he said he didn’t know the fisherman was so close, the affidavit states.
