(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Perkins man who was originally charged with pointing a 9 mm pistol at his girlfriend’s head has pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of discharging a firearm in a public place.
Richard Peter Gualco, 58, also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of firing the gun into a vehicle that his girlfriend had borrowed for the weekend.
As part of a plea bargain approved in court on July 10 by Payne County Special District Judge Katherine Thomas, Gualco was given a one-year suspended sentence except for five days in the county jail.
Gualco was ordered to have a mental health evaluation, to complete any follow-up, to attend an anger resolution course, and to pay the cost of his incarceration, as well as a prosecution fee and court costs.
Gualco must perform 50 hours of community service, pay a $250 fine and contribute $250 to the victims’ compensation fund, court records show.
Perkins Police Officer George Hannon was dispatched at 11:30 p.m. on April 13 to Gualco’s residence on a report of a domestic disturbance, an affidavit said.
The officer was advised by the dispatcher that Gualco had been drinking and had a 9 mm handgun that he shot one time before leaving the residence in a white four-door Dodge truck, the affidavit alleged.
Gualco’s 31-year-old girlfriend said that Gualco had locked her and her 5-year-old son out of the residence, then allowed them back inside, and told her that she had until morning to leave, the affidavit alleged.
She said that she had been living in the residence for one and one-half years, the affidavit said. She said she asked Gualco for her car keys, the affidavit said.
She said she was standing by the front door while Gualco was standing by his truck in the driveway, the affidavit said.
She said Gualco pointed his gun in her direction, the affidavit alleged. She said, “He said, ‘I’m not pointing the gun at you. I’m pointing it over your head,"” the affidavit alleged.
She said that her 5-year-old son had come to the front door as this took place; she said she grabbed her son and brought him back inside, the affidavit alleged.
She said that Gualco “threw the keys at me and yelled, ‘you see this car, f… this car,"” before shooting the gun, the affidavit alleged.
The Perkins officer said he was able to locate a spent 9 mm casing and a hole in the bottom of a white Chevrolet Blazer that she had been borrowing from a friend for the weekend, the affidavit said.
“The bullet traveled through the skin of the vehicle and hit the steel frame. The projectile was lying on the floor directly below the bullet entry point on the vehicle,” the affidavit said.
Gualco’s girlfriend “advised me that Mr. Gualco had been drinking tonight and (she) was unsure how much he had to drink,” the affidavit said.
She said she had been beaten by Gualco in the past and “recently he has hit me in front of my son,” the affidavit alleged.
The Perkins police officer told her that he could take her to Wings Of Hope, a battered women’s shelter in Stillwater, for the night, but she said “I’m not sure what to do,” the affidavit said.
The officer said that he could not tell her what to do, but that he did not believe it was safe for her or her son to stay the night, the affidavit said.
The woman said that she would contact a church friend to come stay with her, the affidavit said. She told the officer several times that she did not want to leave the residence, the affidavit said.
She said that “Mr. Gualco spends a lot of time at the casino,” the affidavit said. The Perkins officer advised her to contact the police department if Gualco returned that night, the affidavit said.
After advising a dispatcher that he was going to the Cimarron Casino in an attempt to locate Gualco, “I contacted the Ioway Tribal Police Department and spoke to Officer Jason Hickman,” for assistance in locating Gualco at the casino, the affidavit said.
“I drove through the parking lot of the casino, but did not find a vehicle matching the description. Officer Hickman and I walked through the casino, but did not locate Mr. Gualco,” the Perkins officer wrote in his affidavit.
“Officer Hickman asked security to check Mr. Gualco’s player card for activity,” which showed that he had not used his card since the previous day, the affidavit said.
When the Perkins officer contacted Gualco’s girlfriend to see if she had any further contact with Gualco, she said “Mr. Gualco sent her a text message stating that he was headed to Texas,” the affidavit said.
She said that Gualco had family in Denton, Texas, the affidavit said.
According to his affidavit, the Perkins police officer asked the dispatcher to send out an officer safety BOLO (be on the lookout for) for Gualco — who was arrested two days later at 2 a.m. by the Payne County Sheriff’s Office.
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