Man accused of holding kids at gunpoint for sliding down a Pasco roof

A Pasco property owner allegedly held a brother and sister at gunpoint after he caught them trespassing on his property.

Prosecutors charged Christopher R. McClure, 64, with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon after an April 3 confrontation on his Road 68 property. He has been released from the Franklin County jail on $5,000 bond.

Franklin County sheriff’s deputies were called to the commercial property on the 6400 block because of juveniles climbing onto a building and sliding down the roof. He believed they had damaged his property.

When the deputy arrived, he found McClure standing in front of a 16-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. The sister and brother had their hands up.

McClure said he had gotten a video from a neighbor showing juveniles trespassing on the property. When he showed up in his pickup, he said they scattered, and he had cut off the escape of the two juveniles with his truck.

“Chris said the gun was in his back pocket and they kept trying to get away and Chris told them to stop,” Deputy Christopher Neal wrote in court documents. “Chris said he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the two juveniles that were in front of him and they stopped.”

The teen girl provided a similar story, alleging that McClure tried to hit him with the pickup, so they moved to the side. They claim he came out of the truck with the gun and pointed it at the two. She told the deputy that they stopped and put their hands up.

Neal stated that McClure had intentionally caused the juveniles to fear for their lives by pointing a gun at them because he didn’t want them to get away.

“Chris escalated to the use of a deadly weapon against two children to prevent them from escaping his property for the crime of being on his property. Chris did not articulate any perceived threat that would constitute this extreme response.”