Man charged with assault after firing gun outside Olympia restaurant

A man was arrested after allegedly threatening a group of people with a handgun outside a restaurant in west Olympia.

Anthony Jay Oliviero, 30, was arrested around 10:30 p.m. Sept. 12 on a felony harassment charge. However, he has since been charged with second-degree assault while armed with a firearm, according to court documents.

Olympia police report that the suspect was intoxicated and had been groping random women at the Emperor’s Palace restaurant on Cooper Point Road. The suspect was subsequently removed from the restaurant by a group of men.

Later that evening, police say the suspect approached a different group of people outside the restaurant, where he pointed a gun directly at one man and started yelling at him. Police report that when the suspect was within 4 feet of the victim, he raised his arm straight up and fired a round, then ran from the scene.

The suspect was located near Target. He told officers that he had been punched in the face and was using the gun for protection from another assault, according to police.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Man charged with assault after firing gun outside Olympia restaurant."