A Skagway man will be arraigned Monday on two counts of third-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons. The charges stem from late September when he allegedly tried to commit suicide by provoking police to shoot him.
Just before 6 p.m. on Sept. 29, two Skagway Police Department officers responded to a call about a drunken, suicidal man armed with two guns and knives, according to charging documents. Shortly after they arrived at 38-year-old Eric Craig Estep’s home, he walked outside with a 12-gauge shotgun and fired two shots.
Estep surrendered after the brief exchange, during which nobody was injured, and police took him into emergency protective custody. He later admitted that the shooting was an attempt to provoke the officers into shooting and killing him, the charging documents read. Estep was intoxicated at the time of the shooting.
On Tuesday, Estep was indicted by a Juneau grand jury on one charge of third-degree assault for each of the two officers at whom he allegedly shot. Third-degree assault is a Class C felony, which carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
He also faces one count of fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons, a charge levied against him for possessing a firearm while intoxicated. This charge is a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of no more than $10,000.
Juneau Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg is assigned to Estep’s case.
Estep is currently being held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau on $10,000 bail.
• Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.
