Man Accused of Shooting at Father in Crystal Home
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A man is facing a felony charge after police say he pointed a gun at his father and fired a shot inside a Crystal home.
He later wounded himself during a struggle with his mother as she tried to take the weapon away.
> Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter
The incident happened around 12:20 a.m. Feb. 21 at a residence in the 5300 block of 35th Avenue North in Crystal, where officers were dispatched on a report of a shooting inside the home. According to the criminal complaint, a woman called 911 telling dispatchers her son had tried to shoot his father and that a gun had gone off while she attempted to take it away from him.
Prosecutors charged Jonathan Daniel Schertner Jr., 25, of Plymouth, with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
Court records show officers arrived and met the reporting party, later identified as Schertner’s mother, who told police her son had pointed a gun directly at his father inside the residence. She reported seeing a spent shell casing on the floor and hearing the father say, “He just tried to kill me” and “he tried to shoot me.”
Officers located Schertner at the home and took him into custody. Investigators then found the father near a detached garage outside the residence.
According to the complaint, the mother told officers she attempted to disarm her son in a bedroom after witnessing the confrontation. During the struggle, the firearm discharged and struck Schertner in the finger. Officers observed blood on a safe inside the bedroom and recovered a Glock 17 handgun with blood on it along with several magazines. A spent casing was found in the kitchen area and another spent casing was located in the chamber of the firearm.
Schertner was transported to North Memorial Hospital for treatment before being booked into the Hennepin County Jail.
Schertner is being held on $100,000 bail ahead of his initial court appearance scheduled for Feb. 24. Court records show he is prohibited from having any contact with his parents if he is released.
