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Disturbance Ends With One Arrest
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An early evening disturbance on Sunday prompted closure of a portion of First Street and required the response of multiple police units when authorities were unsure if they had a hostage situation in progress.

The incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on June 6 in the 400 block of First Street. Police received a report of a man with a gun in the home and quickly called for reinforcements.

Several San Joaquin County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene, a unit out of Ripon responded and Escalon emergency personnel were called to stage at nearby El Portal Middle School in case medical aid was needed.

According to the police report, a woman contacted authorities and said, after arguing during the afternoon, the man in the home went to a safe and grabbed his gun, a .40-caliber Glock handgun. The woman fled the home as he got weapon but told police she heard a gunshot as she left. She was unsure if the shot was fired at her or if the man had attempted to injure himself.

Once police were able to determine there was no one else in the home and that the woman had escaped safely, they made contact with the suspect. He initially told them he did not fire the weapon but instead slammed something down on his workbench in the garage, making a noise similar to a gunshot. Further questioning led to the man, 47-year-old Russell Vian, admitting to police that he fired the weapon, shooting into a bucket of kitty litter in the garage.

There were no injuries but traffic was detoured around the scene as authorities sorted out the situation and made sure no one was harmed and no one was being held at the home. Vian had been drinking during the day, said authorities, and he and the woman had been fighting off and on throughout the afternoon.

Vian was arrested on suspicion of felony discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and booked at San Joaquin County Jail. He was due for arraignment on Tuesday, June 8 after The Times went to press.