By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — A Syracuse man has been sentenced to six years after he fired a handgun near two people.

Phom Ma Jack Davis Nakasen, 40, 1206 N. Algonquin Drive, was sentenced for five charges related to the incident. Those include one count of criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, a Level 6 felony; two counts of pointing a firearm at another, both Level 6 felonies; carrying a handgun without a license, a Class A misdemeanor; and unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer, a Class A misdemeanor.

Three other charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement. Nakasen was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court 1 on Monday, Aug. 8.

The incident occurred on Jan. 23. According to a probable cause affidavit, Kosciusko County Dispatch received a call that a man was pointing a gun at someone’s head and that a gun had been discharged in Warsaw.

A Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputy responded to the scene and spoke with two men. They said a man in a black GMC truck had shot at them.

Officers found the truck and Nakasen, who confirmed that the truck was his and that there was a gun in the vehicle that was his son’s. He also claimed he had not used it.

Officers asked if they could search the vehicle, and Nakasen refused. He began to get upset with the officers and started yelling.

He was asked to stop, but continued and was then arrested for disorderly conduct.

Police interviewed the two men who’d said that they’d been shot at. They’d been in a bar when one of them exchanged some words with a man.

They talked with the man outside the bar and one of the two said he thought things were cooling down when the man asked them to get into his GMC.

One of the men then said they felt like they were being forced into the truck. Earlier in the evening, one of the men said the suspect gave him a business card for “Shaves & Fades Barbershop” with the name “David Nakasen” on it with a phone number. The man gave the card to police.

Another sheriff’s deputy went to the scene of the incident and found a snow-covered parking lot that hadn’t been plowed, with it appearing as if one vehicle had been driven on the lot. He also found three sets of footprints in the snow and a bullet shell casing in the snow and what looked to be a bullet hole in a house.

That deputy spoke with two people who said they’d witnessed the incident. They said they were awakened by dogs barking and went to investigate. One of the two said they saw a black GMC truck in the parking lot, with the driver wearing all black clothing.

Two other younger males got out of the truck, and it appeared like they were all arguing. One of the witnesses said they saw the driver point the gun at the head of one of the younger men. The witnesses then called 911.

The driver then pointed the gun at the younger men’s feet and fired it. The driver got into the truck and drove off, leaving the two men there.

Officers called a wrecker service to impound the truck. An officer saw a black pistol in plain view in the vehicle. It had one bullet in the chamber. Police also found six bullets in the magazine.

When interviewed later, one of the younger men said Nakasen put a gun to his head and got upset, saying he owed Nakasen money. The man said Nakasen shot at both of them two or three times. He also said when questioned that Nakasen told the two he would shoot them if they didn’t get into his truck.

The other man said while the two were at a bar, the man with him exchanged words with Nakasen. The two men went outside to find a ride home, and Nakasen started to talk with and intimidate them.

Nakasen asked the one man if he was scared, and the man said “No.” That caused Nakasen to be upset and the situation to escalate. One of the men said Nakasen was trying to provoke them and Nakasen asked them to get into his truck.

One of the men said they drove off in Nakasen’s truck and Nakasen continued to try to intimidate them. The one man tried to get out, but Nakasen locked the doors so he couldn’t leave.

The man tried to manually unlock the doors, but couldn’t do so. Nakasen then exposed a gun, which the man described as a black pistol.

Nakasen stopped the truck and the one man and Nakasen got out of the vehicle. Nakasen asked one of the men if he was scared and put the gun to his head. The one man said that Nakasen asked him if he wanted his knees and fired the gun near his legs.

The one man said he believed that Nakasen fired two to three shots in the men’s direction and he thought initially that he had been hit.

The bullet casing at the scene matched the rounds found inside the gun in the truck.

Nakasen also made a phone call to his son the next day telling his son to gather up his other guns from a location believed to be Nakasen’s home. Nakasen also had his son delete the contents of one of his cellphones and retrieve a bag that contained $1,400 in $5 and $1 bills.

Nakasen doesn’t have a handgun license and has a prior conviction for domestic battery in Allen County.

During the sentencing Monday, Deputy Prosecutor Joe Sobek reiterated that Nakasen should not have had a weapon due to his prior criminal history.

Defense Attorney Travis Neff asked that Kosciusko Superior Court 1 Judge Karin McGrath take into consideration that Nakasen has two kids to support when making her decision about Nakasen’s sentence.

McGrath said she was taking that into consideration, but also noted that Nakasen’s prior criminal history was “a significant aggravator.”

She noted the pre-sentence investigation seemed to show contradictory statements from Nakasen and said she was bothered that he had asked his son to hide his guns.

For the one count of criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, McGrath sentenced Nakasen to two years, with one executed and one on probation. For one count of pointing a firearm at another, she sentenced Nakasen to one year with the sentence suspended on probation, and for the second count of pointing a firearm at another, she gave him two years with one year executed and one on probation.

For the Class A misdemeanor of carrying a handgun without a license, McGrath sentenced Nakasen to one year and for unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer, a Class A misdemeanor, one year.

The first three charges are to run consecutively to each other and to the later two charges, which are to run concurrently.

Altogether, McGrath gave Nakasen six years total, with three executed and three on probation.

As to where Nakasen is to serve his sentence, McGrath said she thought he deserved to go to the Indiana Department of Correction, but she didn’t know if the IDOC would take him.

If the IDOC doesn’t take him, Nakasen is to serve his sentence in Kosciusko County.

Nakasen has 75 days of jail credit. McGrath also reminded Nakasen he’s to not have a gun and that he is to maintain no contact with the two victims.