Oct. 16--A Santa Rosa, Calif., man who police said fired at his wife and a locksmith as she tried to gain entry to their Fountaingrove, Calif., home was charged Wednesday with six felonies that could carry a lengthy prison term.
James Carl Provost, 43, a local business developer and property manager, was arrested Thursday after an 11-hour standoff triggered by the shooting at his Sedgemoore Drive home.
Provost initially was held on suspicion of attempted murder and his bail set at $1 million.
But prosecutors Wednesday didn't file the attempted murder charge. Instead, Provost was charged with two counts of firing a gun at an unoccupied vehicle, two counts of negligent firearm discharge and two counts of vandalism -- all felonies.
If convicted, he faces a maximum five years in prison, prosecutor Tania Partida said.
She said the evidence supported those charges.
"We are expecting more evidence to come in," Partida said.
Provost was free on a reduced bail of $100,000. He declined to comment as he left the courtroom.
"There was no attempted murder here," said his lawyer, Orchid Vaghti. "He wasn't trying to kill anyone."
Provost was ordered to return Oct. 30 to enter a plea.
Santa Rosa police were called on Oct. 9 after a domestic argument Provost had with his 40-year-old wife at their Santa Rosa hilltop address.
Authorities said Provost locked the wife outside in the midst of the argument and she called a locksmith to get back in.
Police said the first shot was fired from inside the house as the wife and the locksmith came through the door. Provost walked outside and fired at least four more shots, striking the wife's and locksmith's vehicles, authorities said.
Police surrounded the home and attempted through the night to contact Provost and get him out.
SWAT teams entered the house after dawn but found no one inside. Provost was was found in a neighbor's yard and arrested.
Police said they found a shotgun in his house.
You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or [email protected].
Copyright 2013 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.
