A Jackson man will serve 16 days in jail and two years on probation after pleading guilty Friday to reduced charges for firing a gun and threatening a friend in November in Wilson.

Andrew Thomason, 24, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangering and battery charges. He had been facing charges of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor battery.

Thomason, who appeared in 9th Circuit Court with attorney Robert Horn, told Judge Timothy C. Day he’s never gotten into trouble with the law when he was sober.

“So you’re kind of a Jekyll and Hyde when you’re drinking?” Day said.

Thomason said that was correct.

Thomason was arrested Nov. 7 after Tyler Berquist reported that Thomason assaulted him in his bedroom in Wilson and threatened Berquist’s roommate, Phillip Brown, with a rifle, according to court records.

Brown is deaf and does not communicate vocally, according to court records. He told police, through written responses and with help from Berquist, that Thomason was drinking vodka at his house Nov. 6 when he took out Brown’s unloaded .22 caliber rifle, loaded the magazine and put it in the rifle, according to court records.

Thomason began waving the gun around, and Brown tried to make Thomason put it down, but couldn’t communicate with Thomason, court records say.

When Thomason swung the gun toward Brown, he swatted it away and Thomason fired a shot that blew out the light fixture in the bedroom. Thomason then went to the kitchen and fired two shots through the open front door, records say.

After the dispute settled down, Berquist arrived home and went to sleep, records say. Berquist told police Thomason later woke him and tossed him around his bedroom.

“It’s pretty darn clear you can never drink again,” Day said.

Day sentenced Thomason to 365 days in jail on the reckless endangering charge and 180 days in jail on the battery charge, but suspended all but 16 days. Thomason will serve the sentences concurrently and will get credit for 14 days he’s already spent in jail.

Day ordered him to pay his rent this week to support his wife and toddler son and report to the Teton County Jail on Friday evening.

In accordance with a plea agreement, Day also sentenced Thomason to two years of supervised probation.

Once he’s out of jail, Thomason will have to continue with daily alcohol testing and intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment.

He also must pay $360 in court fees, about $200 in restitution and possibly more if the victims seek counseling because of the confrontation.

“There’s going to be a lot of jail time out there hanging over your head and that should be an incentive for you to stay sober,” Day said. “Your son does not deserve to be raised by a dad who’s out running around doing crap like this.”