Gun threats bring charges for Springfield man

A Springfield man is facing felony charges after family members told police he’d made threats to kill himself with a revolver and that he’d recently pointed the same gun at his wife.

www.rutlandherald.com

Published January 25, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Gun threats bring charges for Springfield man By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Springfield man is facing felony charges after family members told police he’d made threats to kill himself with a revolver and that he’d recently pointed the same gun at his wife. Jason Pramataris, 40, formerly of Rutland, pleaded innocent Monday to two felony counts of second-degree aggravated domestic assault and one count of first-degree aggravated domestic assault. Pramataris was released on pretrial conditions including not possessing deadly weapons and staying 300 feet from his wife. He faces a potential maximum of 25 years in jail if convicted. Pramataris is “Brady disqualified” under federal law from possessing a gun due to a previous domestic violence conviction, but the possibility of a federal firearms prosecution was not discussed during Monday’s arraignment. The charges stem from three incidents police said took place over the course of the past two weeks. Springfield officers responded to a 911 call on Olive Street Sunday from family members reporting that Pramataris, who is in the midst of a divorce, had a gun and was threatening to shoot himself following an argument, Springfield Police Sgt. Gregory Molgano wrote in an affidavit. Molgano wrote that Pramataris was outside on a porch when he arrived and “did not appear to be pleased” that police had been summoned, so the sergeant entered the residence and immediately seized an unloaded .38-caliber revolver that was sitting on the dining room table next to a box of 50 bullets. Molgano said Pramataris denied the suicide threat was serious. “He indicated that he might threaten (to harm himself) but wouldn’t do anything because he has too much to (lose). He told me that he was fine and wanted to go to bed,” Molgano wrote. A teenager in the house said that he appeared to have touched off the threat when he made a comment about a previous incident, telling Pramataris “that he shouldn’t point guns at people.” The comment prompted Pramataris to grab his gun and attempt to load it while saying, “Why don’t I just shoot myself in front of all of you? How would you like that?” Molgano wrote that the teenager knocked Pramataris down, took the gun and “choked (him) out” while Pramataris’ wife called 911. Alicia Pramataris told police that her husband had been “recently diagnosed as being bipolar and having borderline personality disorder” and she claimed that “Jason’s actions have been escalating.” She described two earlier incidents to police, saying that two weeks ago he pointed a gun at her when she returned to the house realizing she’d forgotten something. “He put it down and said ‘If you were a stranger I could have shot you,’” she told police. Alicia Pramataris told police she did not believe that her husband didn’t realize she was the person coming through the door because she always plays music loudly in her car when she comes up the driveway. During the other alleged incident, she said her husband grabbed a long braid of her hair and wrapped it around her neck tightly for about 30 seconds, leaving a lasting red mark and causing her “4 out of 10 pain.” “Jason told her he had been joking,” Molgano wrote in his report, noting that other family members who witnessed what was going on said “it wasn’t funny.” In a statement dictated to police, Pramataris denied having actually strangled his wife, saying he’d grabbed the braid and “kissed her on the neck.” He acknowledged saying he was going to shoot himself on Sunday.