A 36-year-old Watertown man is facing five criminal charges, including second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, after authorities say he shot a pellet gun at passing cars on Highway 25 and later pointed a scoped rifle at Carver County deputies during a tense standoff. Montgomery Franklin Jamieson Sr. was booked into custody hours after the confrontation, and a judge has since set his bail at $200,000.
According to MN Crime, the incident began around 12:20 p.m. on August 13 when a reporting party contacted Carver County dispatch to say a white male was shooting a pellet gun at his car from a residence on Highway 25, the main roadway running through unincorporated Watertown Township. Court records cited by the outlet say the suspect pointed the pellet gun at the reporting party and made an obscene gesture before a second person called in similar pellet-gun activity nearby.
Deputy Says Rifle Was Raised in His Direction
When a Carver County corporal responded, he reportedly spotted a man matching the description walking toward the home while holding a scoped rifle and recognized him as Jamieson. The corporal says Jamieson then raised the rifle and pointed it at him, according to the same report, and Jamieson refused to come out of the residence as the standoff escalated. During the encounter, deputies say Jamieson also pointed the pellet gun at other passing vehicles, and he is accused of threatening to kill a deputy, a claim that has resulted in two counts of threats of violence.
Deputies eventually deployed chemical pepper-ball rounds into the residence to try to induce his surrender, a tactic the Carver County Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Jason Kamerud, routinely uses during barricade situations to avoid escalating to lethal gunfire, per Carver County Local News. At one point, deputies observed Jamieson exit the residence holding a phone and a rifle, then saw him point the rifle barrel into his own mouth before he was later seen aiming at them from a prone position inside the garage.
Standoff Ends With Resistance and a Search Warrant
Jamieson eventually physically resisted arrest before deputies were able to handcuff him, and he reportedly attempted to throw something out of the garage during the confrontation. A search warrant executed at the property turned up a loaded black Benjamin .177 pellet gun, the report states. The pellets fired during the incident damaged the windshield and windows of two vehicles, with pellets later found inside one of the cars.
Jamieson's arrest came just four days after a separate run-in with law enforcement in neighboring Wright County. According to the Wright County Sheriff's Office, he was arrested on August 9 in Monticello on a gross misdemeanor charge of third-degree drug-impaired driving after deputies reported finding him searching for his car keys, which were already in his pocket. Custody records from the Carver County Sheriff's Office show Jamieson was booked into the Carver County Jail at 2:34 a.m. on August 14, following the standoff.
Charges Carry Years of Potential Prison Time
Carver County District Court received the five charges against Jamieson on August 14: second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, obstructing legal process, fourth-degree damage to property, and two counts of threats of violence. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.222, Subdivision 1, a conviction for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon carries up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $14,000, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. State law defines a dangerous weapon broadly enough to include a pellet rifle, since Minnesota Statute § 609.02, Subdivision 6 covers any device likely to produce death or great bodily harm in the manner it is used, per Sieben Cotter Law.
The threats-of-violence charges also carry significant exposure. Minnesota Statute § 609.713, Subdivision 1 sets a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for threatening a crime of violence to terrorize another person, while Subdivision 3 separately punishes displaying or brandishing a BB gun or replica firearm to cause terror with up to a year and a day in prison and a $3,000 fine, according to London Defense. Minnesota law separately classifies assault by degree under statutes 609.221 through 609.224, with first-degree assault carrying up to 20 years in prison and lower degrees ranging from gross misdemeanor exposure up to a 10-year felony.
Jamieson's case will proceed through Minnesota's First Judicial District, with felony hearings and trial proceedings held at the Carver County Justice Center in Chaska. It remains unclear whether his defense will seek a mental health or substance abuse evaluation given the back-to-back nature of his arrests in Wright and Carver counties, and no schedule for his initial court appearance has yet been made public.
