Man With Sledgehammer Arrested in East Mercer Way Parking Dispute

A heated parking dispute involving a handgun and sledgehammer ended in arrest Saturday night, Mercer Island Police said.

A  resident of the 5800 block of East Mercer Way was taken into custody on July 13 on suspicion of assault after he threatened to damage the hull of a boat blocking his driveway with a 12-pound sledgehammer, according to a police report. The boat owner said he had stopped there temporarily, trying to help a lost and confused elderly woman he found at the Mercer Island Boat Launch find the address of her son's house.

The homeowner originally reported the disturbance and parking complaint at the foot of the driveway at 8:42 p.m.

The man, 66, said he was tired of people constantly blocking his driveway, and yelled at the boat owner and another man to move the "f---ing truck", the report stated. When the two men did not return immediately, the homeowner retrieved a sledgehammer from his basement and wielded it as if to strike boat, and "didn't threaten the people, but was acting like he would damage the boat."

The boat owner, a 50-year-old Kirkland man, stepped between hammer and boat and challenged the resident, asking, "Do you want to go a few rounds?", prompting the man to retreat to his doorway, according to the report.

Police say the victim followed the man with the sledgehammer up the driveway, but stopped when he saw the man's wife had leveled a loaded handgun in his direction. The wife told police she demanded he leave their property and denied pointing the gun directly at him.

Mercer Island police officers unloaded the chambered round and clip of the Beretta .25 caliber pistol and seized it and the sledgehammer as evidence.

Mercer Island Police Cmdr. Leslie Burns said no further reference is made about the elderly woman who was trying to get home and assumed she arrived home safely.

The resident was later processed and released pending charges from the Mercer Island city prosecutor.