Officials drop assault charge against man

A first-degree assault case against a Spokane Valley man began with a bang in February and ended with a whimper Tuesday.

Three Spokane County sheriff’s deputies said they fired 21 shots into Brian Thomas Anest’s home on Feb. 7, killing a dog, because they thought he had fired a shotgun.

But investigators were unable to find any evidence that Anest fired the weapon he was carrying when he responded to the deputies’ knocks on his door about 3 a.m.

So a first-degree assault charge against Anest, 20, was dropped Tuesday, and he was allowed to plead guilty Tuesday to unlawful display or discharge of a weapon. In exchange, Anest and his family had to agree not to sue the Sheriff’s Office or the city of Spokane Valley, which contracts with the Sheriff’s Office for police service.

Deputy Prosecutor Matt Duggan wanted Anest to serve 10 more days in jail on the gross misdemeanor conviction, but Superior Court Judge Robert Austin limited the sentence to the five days Anest spent in jail when he was arrested.

Defense attorney Bevan Maxey said the plea bargain vindicated Anest by showing he didn’t fire any shots.

“I hope that all parties involved, not just Mr. Anest, have learned an important lesson about the use of firearms,” Maxey said. “Deadly force should be used only when absolutely necessary.”

There were six teenagers in the house at 19122 E. Cane Circle when Deputies Robert Stevens, Sean Walter and Jeff Thurman opened fire on Anest. No one was injured.

“It was only by the grace of God that they didn’t hit him,” Maxey said.

Sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said investigators have speculated that the noise the deputies thought was a shotgun blast might have been a screen door slamming, but no one knows what caused the sound all three reported hearing.

“We try our best to respond appropriately when our people are threatened,” Reagan said. “It was their perception that they were being fired upon and they returned fire.

“The fact remains that our people were there for a lawful purpose and saw him approaching the door with a shotgun and heard a bang.”

The incident began as an investigation of prank phone calls that allegedly were sexually harassing. The victim’s husband, a Sprint employee, traced one of the calls to Anest’s cellular phone and was with the officers who fired on Anest.

Court documents say the deputies knocked repeatedly on various doors and windows before Anest went to the door. In addition, Maxey said, they cut off electricity to the home.

Maxey said his client acknowledges that prank phone calls were made with his phone, but denies making the calls in question. Anest also denies making “or intending to make” a statement to deputies that he knew they were law enforcement officers when he answered the door with a shotgun.

Anest claimed he was drunk, thought his cousin was at the door, and intended a practical joke, Maxey said.

Anest, who was 19 at the time, had just graduated from Central Valley High School and had no criminal history. He was frequently on the honor roll at Central Valley and at Greenacres Junior High.

He entered an Alford plea Tuesday, maintaining his innocence while acknowledging there was enough evidence to convict him.