‘My .45 Will Solve This’ — Casper Man Accused of Pulling Gun On Bartender
UPDATE: On January 7, 2022, Jason Nathaniel Hammond appeared for sentencing at the Natrona County District Courthouse with his Public Defender Kurt Infanger.
Earlier, Hammond accepted a plea agreement, which modified the charges to two counts of reckless endangerment and breach of peace. All three are misdemeanors. Hammond was sentenced to one year in jail for count one with credit for eight days served, and sentenced to eight days for counts two and three with credit for time served.
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A Casper man is accused of pulling a gun on a bartender and store clerk last month.
Jason Nathaniel Hammond is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and battery and three counts of possession of a firearm with unlawful intent in Natrona County District Court.
The charges stem from a series of incidents that allegedly occurred during the early morning hours of May 14, 2021.
He has not yet had an opportunity to enter pleas to the charges, which were bound over last week.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, several Casper Police officers responded to a gas station in the Paradise Valley neighborhood after a clerk reported that a man refused to leave the store and also had a gun in his pocket. The clerk also said the man left in a silver truck.
As officers worked the call in Paradise Valley, dispatch advised that they received another call from a bar on CY Avenue. The caller reportedly told dispatchers that a man pulled a gun on several patrons in the parking lot and left in a silver truck.
The affidavit states an officer spoke with a bartender who said the man, later identified as Hammond, was in the bar buying several rounds for the whole bar. At some point, Hammond got into a confrontation with another man that moved into the parking lot. The bartender reportedly noticed Hammond left his phone at the bar and went outside to return it.
Court documents state that when the bartender tried to return Hammond's phone to him, he turned toward her, "racked" the slide on a .45 pistol and pointed at her.
Then, court documents state, Hammond stated, "My .45 will solve this problem."
According to the affidavit, a bar patron saw Hammond pointing the gun at the bartender and tried to intervene. At that point, court documents state, Hammond pointed the gun at the patron and continued saying "My. 45 will solve this."
Meanwhile, police spoke with a clerk at the gas station who reportedly said Hammond went into the store to buy cigarettes but did not have an ID, so he was refused service.
When Hammond returned, the affidavit states, he allegedly threw his license on the counter and demanded cigarettes. The clerk still reportedly refused before Hammond pulled a gun from his pocket, but did not point it at her.
Hammond was arrested later that afternoon without incident.