A Haines man is in custody and charged with first-degree assault for allegedly pistol-whipping and firing a gun at another man.
Francis Patrick Hickman, 28, was indicted Wednesday by a Juneau grand jury on two charges of third-degree assault, one charge of second-degree assault and one charge of first-degree assault. All of the charges are felonies.
In court documents, Haines police officer Chris Brown testified that Hickman beat another man with a pistol in the face, knocking out two of the man’s teeth. As the man tried to pick up his knocked-out teeth, Hickman fired two shots at him from “point-blank range,” missing both times.
The man’s sister is married to Hickman, and he had been sleeping in the couple’s home at 11 p.m. Nov. 30 when he was awoken by Hickman yelling at him. After that, Hickman allegedly beat him and threw him down the home’s stairs.
Police arrived at the home to protect Hickman’s wife and their 2-year-old child, but Hickman was nowhere to be found.
According to court records, once police entered the house, they found “a large amount of blood at the bottom of the stairs” and two bullet holes — one in a wall, and another in a window. The injured man was taken to the local clinic.
Police obtained a warrant for Hickman’s arrest on Dec. 1, and he was in custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Center by Dec. 5.
Hickman has been assigned an attorney from the Public Defender Agency, and his next court date has not been set.
