Jonathan D. Wilkins, 46, of Eastsound, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2020 shooting incident on Orcas Island.
Wilkins was sentenced to 129 months of confinement by San Juan County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Loring on March 21, 2022. He pleaded guilty to one count of assault in the first degree with a deadly weapon/force and two counts of assault in the third degree. He was also ordered to pay $35,174.32 in fines and restitution. One count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree was dropped.
On March 16, 2020, Wilkins went to the home of an acquaintance on Jackson Road in Eastsound for an informal gathering. At some point in the evening, an argument broke out between Wilkins and another man. It escalated and the disagreement moved outside after Wilkins was asked to leave. According to the police report, the defendant fired six shots from a .25 caliber handgun into the crowd gathered outside the home. One man was shot in his neck and abdomen; another victim was struck in the leg and a third person was not hit by a bullet, but one passed through the top of a hat he was wearing. It missed the top of his head by approximately two inches.
Wilkins attempted to leave the scene in his truck, according to court documents, striking another truck and a dumpster before he was removed from his vehicle by two witnesses, including the victim whose hat was struck. They wrestled the gun away from Wilkins, who was detained until deputies arrived.
Both victims were transported from the scene by emergency medical services personnel. The victim who received two gunshot wounds was flown off-island to the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center. He survived but is partially paralyzed.
According to the probable cause statement, Wilkins admitted to having a firearm and shooting in the direction of the men who had followed him from inside of the house. His criminal history includes felony theft; assault with sexual motivation; burglary and firearm theft in San Juan, Whatcom, Walla Walla and Pierce counties.
