Richland man pulls gun at gas pump. He said it was his 2nd Amendment right

A Richland man claims he was exercising his Second Amendment rights when he pointed a gun at a gas station customer because she was parked in front of the pump he wanted.

Jeffrey L. Nims, 60, told police he wanted to use that specific pump because he knew it would take his credit card.

The other customer was in her SUV and appeared to be done pumping gas, so he honked his horn because she was taking too long to leave, court documents said..

That led the woman to get out and approach his Honda Civic while waving her arms around and screaming, Nims claimed. So, he grabbed the pistol from his glove compartment because he felt threatened, the documents said.

However, Richland police reviewed video surveillance from the Circle K station and say Nims lied about being confronted by the woman.

The footage showed him reach for the Colt .380 pistol with his right hand, switch the gun to his left hand, lift it up and point it at the woman’s Honda Element, court documents said.

The customer had gotten out of her vehicle to tell Nims that the gas pump he was parked at also worked. But when he pulled out the gun, she ran into the convenience store at 1404 George Washington Way and told a clerk to call 911.

“She said she was extremely afraid and thought (Nims) was going to shoot her,” documents said. “Officers noted while speaking with (the customer) she appeared upset and almost broke down in tears as she explained that she thought her life could have ended during the incident.”

Nims is charged in Benton County Superior Court with second-degree assault for the April 19 confrontation. He is out of custody awaiting trial after posting $1,000 bail.

He was no longer at the gas station when police arrived, but officers spoke with witnesses who had his license plate number.

Gun threat at pump

The victim said Nims honked his horn at her while she sat in her SUV. When she told Nims to use the pump behind her, he claimed he knew it would not take his credit card and wanted her spot, court documents said.

Another man said he’d been eating from a bag of chips in the Circle K parking lot when he saw a driver threaten a woman with a gun. He said he walked over to Nims and “told him he was probably going to jail,” documents said.

A second witness told police he had just driven into the lot and heard yelling at the gas pumps. He said he saw a man pull a silver handgun out and point it at a woman.

Nims reportedly admitted to police that he was in a dispute with a woman at Circle K, and said “he had exercised his ‘2nd Amendment rights’ while explaining the altercation,” court documents said.

He said when he felt threatened by the woman, he got out the pistol and showed it to her, saying, “Am I going to have a problem with you?” documents said.

Nims then acknowledged the woman was not armed and did not threaten him.

In a later search at his’ home, investigators found two handguns in the top drawer of a bedroom dresser.

One of the guns, a silver semi-automatic Colt .380, was loaded with seven rounds of ammunition, documents said. It reportedly matched the description of the weapon used in the confrontation.