Three arrested in Prineville assault, gunshot; 1 later released

(Update: One man freed from jail, says he fired shot to protect assault victim)

An altercation involving two brothers in which a family member was injured led to a man trying to intervene by firing a gun in southeast Prineville late Monday afternoon, landing all three men in jail, police said. The man who acknowledged firing the gun was dismissed after authorities declined to press charges.

Police Sgt. Troy Wiles said the incident occurred around 5:20 p.m. in the 500 block of Southeast Second Street.

Few initial details were released, but Wiles said in a news release that Andrew Lopez-Koops, 18, and Noah Lopez-Koops, 19, “intentionally or knowingly aided in causing physical injury to a family member.”

During that altercation, Charles Banks, 71, tried to intervene and fired a gun “at a fixed object, which created substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person,” Wiles wrote, adding that “at this time, there are no known injuries” as a result of the gunshot.

All three were taken to the Crook County Jail. The 18- and 19-year-olds were held on third-degree assault charges and $15,000 bail, while Banks was charged with reckless endangering and held on $10,000 bail.

Banks was released from jail Tuesday after the DA’s office declined to press charges, a jail officer confirmed. Banks contacted NewsChannel 21 and acknowledged he did fire a gun, to protect an alleged assault victim.

“I’m in my backyard a block away, hearing a woman scream, hearing 4-5 other me’s voices, extremely intense,” he said. “I want and I tried to protect somebody. That’s what happened.”

Wiles said an investigation also determined that two other, unknown males “may be potential witnesses or victims” to the incident, and he asked that anyone with more information call the Prineville Police Department.

Wiles told NewsChannel 21 the teens are not related to or associated with Banks. Beyond that, he said, the description of the incident was vague at this point “because we still have possible witnesses to obtain statements from,” and he didn’t want to influence them with more specific details.

Prineville police were assisted in the case by the Crook County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police, the sergeant said.