A Centralia man has been ordered held without bond on eight charges that following incidents where he entered a neighbor’s home after pointing a gun inside a window and shooting his girlfriend’s cat inside his home.
Christian Braun of Randolph Drive was formerly charged in Clinton County Court with two counts of reckless discharge of a firearm, aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal damage to property between $500 and $10,000, criminal trespass to a residence with a person present, aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, causing a child to be endangered and having a firearm without a FOID card.
Centralia Police Lieutenant Steve Whritenour says they were initially called to the 400 block of Randolph Drive early Tuesday morning to a report of a man walking with a shotgun who had possibly broken into a residence. Police later learned a man believed to be Braun had come to their home holding a shotgun asking to be left inside because people were after him. He then ran off.
Police learned Braun had allegedly broke a window out of one of his other neighbor’s home and had pointed the barrel of the shotgun through the window. The homeowner ran out of the residence as Braun apparently entered through the broken window. Police took Braun into custody inside the home without incident and removed the shotgun that was still propped up against the window. An inspection of the gun showed a shell had apparently jammed inside.
Braun’s girlfriend told police she had been awaken at 4:15 Tuesday morning to the sound of two gunshots and Braun allegedly yelling ‘they’re inside the house’. She said Braun then left the home and she found her cat had been shot and killed near the front door with the glass in the door shattered. The girlfriend called Braun because she was uncertain who had fired the shots and called the babysitter to pick up her daughter. Whritenour says police found bird shot and a spent shell near where the cat was shot that matched the gun found propped in the neighbor’s window.
During his first court appearance, Judge Douglas Gruenke found the release of Braun would pose a real and present threat and there are no conditions that would mitigate the threat. The public defender appointed to represent Braun was ordered to further investigate his fitness to stand trial. He is due back in court April 16th for a preliminary hearing.
