A suspected drunk driver crashed into a car. Police say it escalated to a gun being drawn

A Pasco man was arrested late Sunday for allegedly pulling a pistol on a group of party-goers and threatening to shoot them as he chambered a round.

Jaime Mora Ayala, 38, told Pasco police that he feared for his wife’s safety when he saw her “talking to a crowd of people who looked aggressive,” according to court documents.

His wife, named in documents as Merced Sanchez Alvarez, had reportedly backed into a parked car that belonged to the party host.

Responding officers noted she “was clearly intoxicated,” and arrested the 28-year-old woman on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Mora Ayala appeared Monday afternoon in Franklin County Superior Court.

Judge Jackie Shea Brown found probable cause to hold him on two counts each of first- and second-degree assault, all felonies.

The judge also set his bail at $2,500 after listening to an argument by the defense. Prosecutors had requested $10,000.

Court documents show that police were called to the 800 block of South Eighth Avenue at 10:39 p.m. Sunday for a complaint about two men fighting in the street.

Officers arrived to find a large group of people arguing, wrote Officer Joshua Glass.

Collision confrontation

Fabian Herrera Barboza told police he’d been having a party when he learned someone had hit his car. He left the party to confront Sanchez Alvarez about the collision, documents said.

He said that is when Mora Ayala allegedly approached him, pulled out a gun, racked a round into the chamber and pointed the gun at him and the crowd of people.

A party-goer told Glass that when he saw Mora Ayala pointing a gun, he grabbed a beer bottle with plans to attack the assailant if needed.

He said Mora Ayala also pointed the gun at him, but he didn’t need to fight back because that’s when the suspect’s wife grabbed the pistol out of his hands.

Sanchez Ayala was holding the pistol “in a non-threatening manner” when Glass found her in the crowd. The gun was taken from her.

She said she had accidentally backed into a parked car and then got out of her van, court documents said. She claimed that several “gangster-looking people” came up to her at that point, and a 16-year-old girl punched her in the face.

A man acknowledged approaching Sanchez Ayala with four other men, but said she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. When that happened, his teen sister came up and hit Sanchez Ayala for touching her brother, documents said.

After his arrest, Mora Ayala admitted to pulling the slide back on his pistol to chamber a round. He said he told everyone to stay back, but denied ever pointing the pistol at people, court documents said.

He also acknowledged drinking alcohol earlier that night, documents said.