Man Who Shot Gun Near Adna School Sentenced to Two Months

Posted

A Chehalis man accused of shooting a gun on property adjacent to Adna Elementary School in January and making threatening comments to teachers was sentenced to two months in jail and ordered to stay 1,000 feet away from the building.

Craig Osmanberg, 62, pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm (a felony) and harassment (a misdemeanor.) In accordance with a plea deal, a count of reckless endangerment was dismissed.

School officials from the Adna School District spoke at a hearing in Lewis County Superior Court Friday afternoon. Both elementary school principal Lisa Dallas and the district’s superintendent James Forrest requested to Judge James Lawler that Osmanberg not be allowed to live on property adjacent to the school any longer.

Dallas said the incident was alarming to both students and staff members. She said maintaining their safety and their sense of safety was of utmost importance, and Osmanberg’s presence would be detrimental to their security.

Lawler, in accordance to an agreement between deputy prosecutor Joe Bassetti and attorney Jason Arcuri, sentenced Osmanberg to two months on the first count with 57 days credit for time already served. On the second count, he sentence Osmanberg to 364 days with 304 days suspended.

He was also ordered to pay a victim assessment and DNA fee and to stay 1,000 feet away from Adna Elementary School.

Osmanberg, on Jan. 10, fired a gun multiple times on property he was staying at that sits adjacent to the school’s playground. Kids were outside playing when the gunshots rang out. Somewhere between five and 10 shots were heard in quick succession.

At the time, school staff didn’t see anyone, only noted the direction the shots were coming from.

Later that day, as students were being loaded onto buses, a dog came running from the property adjacent to the school. Osmanberg yelled for the dog to return, and for the kids not to touch the dog.

Court documents indicate he shouted something to the effect of: “Kids don’t need to listen to the f****** teachers! I can shoot the teachers!”

The school’s administration, in the aftermath of the incident, said they were reviewing how they communicated noteworthy information back to parents, after a letter alerting them to the event wasn’t distributed until five days later.

During the hearing, Osmanberg said he understood that the situation was a serious one, but also said it was a one-time occurance.

“This was a fluke deal,” he said about the incident.