Staff Report

Phom Ma Jack Davis Nakasen

WARSAW — A Syracuse man was recently arrested after allegedly shooting at two men in Warsaw.

Phom Ma Jack Davis Nakasen, 40, 1206 N. Algonquin Drive, Syracuse, is charged with two counts of criminal confinement, both level 3 felonies; criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and two counts of pointing a firearm, all level 6 felonies; carrying a handgun without a license and possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer, both class A misdemeanors; and disorderly conduct, a class B misdemeanor.

Shortly before midnight on Sunday, Jan. 23, county dispatch received a report of a shot fired in the area of West Lake Street in Warsaw. A caller reported a man had a gun to someone’s head and that a firearm was discharged. The person who fired the gun left the scene east on West Lake Street.

According to court documents, when a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at the scene, two men approached the deputy and said they were shot at by a man driving a black GMC truck.

Assisting officers found a black GMC truck at the Time Out Inn. The suspect was identified as Nakasen, who goes by “David.” Officers spoke with Nakasen, who said the truck was his. He said there was a firearm in the vehicle but that it belonged to a relative.

When officers asked for consent to search the vehicle, Nakasen allegedly refused. The vehicle was running with its lights on and parked oddly near the business’s front door. Nakasen began to get belligerent with officers and refused to stop yelling in the parking lot. He was asked to stop yelling but refused and continued to curse and yell in public. Nakasen was arrested at that time for disorderly conduct.

The deputy spoke with the two men who were shot at by Nakasen. The men said they were in Time Out Inn having some drinks and exchanged words with a man, later identified as Nakasen, inside the bar. The group then went outside.

One of the men said Nakasen asked them to get into his truck, but the other man said he felt they were forced into the vehicle. One of the men provided officers with a business card Nakasen had given him earlier in the evening. During the investigation, deputies found three sets of footprints in a snow-covered parking lot that had not been plowed. They also found a bullet shell casing in the snow next to the footprints and what appeared to be a bullet hole in the east side of a building.

A deputy spoke with two witnesses who saw the incident. The witnesses said they were awakened by barking dogs and went to investigate. They saw three men exit a black GMC truck and said it appeared like the group was arguing. The truck’s driver then pointed a handgun at one of the men’s heads, at which point one of the witnesses called 911. The driver then pointed the handgun at the men’s feet, shot the handgun and left the scene in his vehicle.

While searching the vehicle, officers found a black pistol with six bullets in its magazine and one in its chamber.

The two men who were shot at by Nakasen were interviewed at the sheriff’s office. One of the men said Nakasen put a gun to his head and began to get aggravated with him, saying the man owed him money. The man also said Nakasen shot at both him and the second man two or three times. When asked how they ended up in Nakasen’s truck, the man said Nakasen told them he would shoot them if they didn’t get into the truck.

The second man said while they were at Time Out Inn, he spoke with Nakasen. The two men later went outside to try and find a ride home when Nakasen started to talk with them and intimidate them. Nakasen kept asking the second man if he was scared and became agitated when he was told “no,” causing the conversation to escalate. The second man told officers Nakasen was trying to provoke them to cause an altercation.

While in Nakasen’s truck, the two men couldn’t leave because Nakasen locked the vehicle’s doors. Nakasen then stopped his vehicle and asked the second man again if he was scared while allegedly holding a gun to his head. Nakasen fired a gun near the second man’s legs.

The bullet casing found at the scene matched the rounds found in Nakasen’s vehicle. During the booking process, officers found business cards on Nakasen that matched the card provided by the men who were shot at.

In a jail phone call on Jan. 24, Nakasen told one of his relatives to gather up his firearms, delete the contents on one of his cellphones and retrieve a bag of money hidden in his belongings. The relative said the bag contained $1,400.

Nakasen does not have a handgun license and has a prior conviction for domestic battery out of Allen County.

He was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Jan. 24, with a $51,500 surety and cash bond. As part of his bond conditions, Nakasen cannot leave the state and must surrender all firearms in his possession or under his control.

Nakasen is also subject to pretrial electronic monitoring through the county’s community corrections program and/or probation department and shall only be released upon the posting of bond herein and the hook-up/activation of an electronic monitoring device.