Man Arrested for Allegedly Firing 14 Shots Inside Casper Home
No one was hurt late Friday when a fight reportedly led a Casper man to pull his handgun and fire several rounds into the ceiling and wall of a home on Gila Bend.
However, 21-year-old Cody Ray Gowers was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and felony property destruction.
A woman called police at 11:39 p.m. Friday to report people fighting over a gun in the area of Whispering Springs Road and Gila Bend. She reportedly said she may have heard them shooting a gun in the house.
Court documents say an argument between Gowers and a homeowner turned physical, with Gowers at one point reportedly pinned on the living room floor.
According to witness statements contained in an affidavit, Gowers kept "grabbing his gun" during the fight before firing four to five rounds into the ceiling.
Gowers and the man he was fighting with then stood up and moved toward the front door, where they both tripped over the carpet ledge and resumed fighting on the floor, a witness told police.
Gowers then allegedly fired two to six shots into the wall near the door before he and the man he was fighting with got up and went outside, according to the witness.
Another witness reportedly described the altercation as "horsing around" rather than a fight, according to the affidavit.
Gowers reportedly told police he arrived at the home around 8 p.m. and was playing beer pong with a man who owned the home. As they played, Gowers says a name came up that the other man didn't like, so the man got frustrated and started "going off."
The argument turned into pushing and slapping, Gowers told detectives, before the other man allegedly pushed Gowers to the ground and put his hands around Gowers' throat.
Gowers allegedly said he "fired off two rounds" when they were near the entryway. He believed he had fired three rounds in total, according to the affidavit, from his Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm. He reportedly said there were 17 rounds in the magazine.
Gowers reportedly told detectives he may have "let off one more round" as he was trying to get into his vehicle to leave. The other man reportedly kept coming after him, so Gowers allegedly tried to separate himself from the gun and the other man.
He reportedly did not keep a round in the chamber, but chambered a round while on the ground with the other man on top of him.
The man who fought with Gowers told police he felt multiple rounds go past his head.
One witness said Gowers always carried a gun. Officers recovered a belt, holster and handgun outside the house, court documents say. Officers found the gun with two rounds left in the magazine and one round in the chamber.
Seven bullet holes were found in the living room ceiling, with seven more bullet holes in the wall near the front door, according to the affidavit.
Gowers reportedly did not remember firing that many shots.
Several rounds went through the wall and into the bathroom, with one round reportedly traveling through the bathtub.
Children were in two bedrooms next to the bathroom when the shots were fired, court documents say.