He fired a gun in a Richland restaurant then tried swimming the Columbia River to escape

Richland Police had to talk a man out of the Columbia River after he fled during a string of crimes.

It all started just after 5 p.m. Monday near Fran Rish Stadium when Jacky W. Sharp II walked into a store in the 700 block of Stevens Drive and allegedly punched a clerk. He seemingly struck the woman for no apparent reason, Richland police said in a Facebook post.

He then left the store and went to a restaurant about a block away in the 700 block of Goethals Drive. He started a disturbance where he allegedly brandished a firearm at a patron and then fired it into the ceiling.

No one was hurt.

Sharp ran from the scene and was found by officers about half a mile away near the Howard Amon boat ramp.

Richland police said he refused to listen to commands and went into the Columbia River.

Rescue boat teams and paramedics were called to the area to help with pulling him from the water.

After nearly an hour of negotiating, Sharp surrendered. He was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and illegal gun possession.