Man jailed for allegedly threatening to shoot children playing basketball

A Umatilla man was arrested for assault after allegedly shooting a basketball two children were playing with and stating they would be next.

A deputy responded to complaint regarding a verbal argument with a weapon, later found to involve 64-year-old Dale William Barnes, at an undisclosed Umatilla residence around 6:44 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. 

A man called to state that one of his juveniles was at the residence hiding in the back room due to Barnes walking around the house and pointing a firearm at his child and three others. He advised that the juveniles called him and stated that Barnes was walking around the residence armed, yelling at them to come out, the report said. 

Upon the deputy’s arrival, he learned that Barnes had a history of threatening the juveniles and being violent. Another male on scene advised that he had not yet made contact at the residence to figure out what was going on, the report said. 

The deputy then spoke to Barnes who stated that he had been in an argument with two of the juveniles earlier in the day. At about 3:00 p.m., he was sitting out on the porch while two of the juveniles were playing in the front yard. The pair was passing a basketball back-and-forth and kept hitting it on the fence that was directly in front of Barnes, the report said. 

After the juveniles hit the fence with the ball, he walked around to confront them. The juveniles were at the front of the driveway while he was at the front of the house about 20 yards away. He was angry, so he pulled out his .22 magnum and shot the basketball one time, the report said. 

Barnes then put the firearm back in his pocket and sat down on the porch. The juveniles ran off, and he did not see them again. He stated he never shot the gun more than once and had no confrontation with the juveniles after that incident, the report said. 

The deputy proceeded to interview the first juvenile victim who said he and the second were in the front yard passing a basketball back-and-forth, which kept hitting the fence in front of Barnes. The ball went past one of the juveniles, and it hit the fence one last time before Barnes came around and shot the ball once, the report said. 

Barnes then pointed the firearm at the juveniles and stated they were going to be next. The two were scared of being shot, so they ran away from the residence. They came around the back of the house and entered through the back door to a third juvenile’s room, the report said. 

Before going to the room, the first juvenile went to the living room and broke Barnes’ computer due to not liking his threats. The two then went into the third juvenile’s room, during which they heard four more shots from the front yard believed to be Barnes’ firearm. Barnes entered the residence and began yelling for the children to come to the living room after finding his computer broken. However, they all hid inside the bathroom until law enforcement arrived on scene, the report said. 

The second juvenile corroborated the first’s statement, leading the deputy to interview the third. She advised that she was not part of the initial incident int he front yard involving the basketball. She did not hear Barnes shoot the basketball because she was listening to music, the report said. 

However, she did hear four more gunshots come from the front yard. She and the other juveniles were inside watching a movie when Barnes came into the residence. He called for them to enter the living room, and they all went to hide in the bathroom. She did not see the firearm but believed Barnes was still in possession of it, the report said. 

A fourth juvenile who was also not part of the incident in the yard had a similar statement to the third. She heard the four gunshots but did not see who shot them, and she hid with them in the bathroom until law enforcement arrived, the report said. 

Of the two men on scene, both of which were fathers of the juveniles, only one wanted to press charges. The incident was labeled domestic due to all the adults and juveniles being related and living in the same house together, the report said. 

The .22 magnum had five rounds loaded into the firearm. Only one of the rounds was spent, and the four others were still loaded, the report said. 

Barnes was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (domestic) and two counts of child abuse (domestic). The Georgia native was transported to the Lake County Jail with bond set at $8,000.