Bail Set at $50,000 for Man Accused of Firing Shot at Thurston County Deputies 

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Bail was set at $50,000 this week for a man accused of firing a shot at law enforcement in the Yelm area over the weekend.

Ross A. Mann, 70, appeared in Thurston County Superior Court on Monday. The court found probable cause to charge the man with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon.

Charging documents reveal a chaotic series of events that finally was resolved peacefully.

Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the 16000 block of Chuckawa Lane Southeast near Yelm on Saturday after a report of a suspicious person with a gun.

The person who called 911 said Mann, his friend, had a gun and was suicidal. Earlier in the day, Mann had come over to his friend’s house and asked the friend to shoot him. When the friend refused, Mann retrieved a handgun and demanded again that the friend shoot him. The friend and his wife locked themselves in their house while Mann walked around the property.

The friend described Mann as suffering from manic depression and that his wife had recently left him.

Thurston deputies and Yelm police arrived and took up positions near the end of the driveway and evaluated the situation. Suddenly, a shot came from Mann’s position, according to the charging documents.



“From where I was standing, I could not tell what Mann was shooting at, but Yelm police Sgt. Turner soon advised me that he could clearly see through his binoculars that Mann had taken aim at our position and fired a single round in our direction,” the deputy writes. “We fell back to a better position and began working on a plan.”

While law enforcement worked on a plan, they observed the following: Mann firing a round near some horses, chasing the horses as if trying to corral them, firing at least three rounds while on the porch, screaming and banging on the house and finally stripping down to his underwear.

Mann then announced he was going for a drive. Law enforcement fell back to block the driveway with their vehicles, then watched as he drove up, got out of the vehicle and calmly undid the chain for the gate.

Sensing an opportunity, law enforcement moved in.

“As he turned to walk back to his car, I quickly closed the distance between us,” the deputy writes. “The units behind me quickly gained control of Mann as he was on the ground and took him into custody.”

The court also ordered that before Mann is released he is to be evaluated by a designated crisis responder.

Arraignment is set for Aug. 3.