A 43-year-old Greenbank man is suspected of pointing a gun in his girlfriend’s face and throwing a boulder through a car window, according to court documents.

Joshua G. Burden made his preliminary appearance in Island County Superior Court Monday. Judge Christon Skinner found probable cause existed to believe Burden may have committed the crimes of two counts of assault in the second degree, assault in the fourth degree, unlawful imprisonment, felony harassment and malicious mischief.

Chief Criminal Attorney Eric Ohme asked the judge to set bail at $50,000 based on the violent nature of the crimes and the fact that it took place over two days, which shows it wasn’t a “flash in the pan.”

Matt Montoya, the defense attorney, asked that Burden be released on his personal recognizance. He pointed out that Burden is a long-term resident who has his own business and whose only criminal history is a gross misdemeanor domestic-violence assault.

Skinner inquired about a 2020 extreme risk protection order against Burden, which temporarily prohibited him from having guns. Ohme said the order had expired, so Burden possession of a gun was legal.

Skinner set Burden’s bail at either a $25,000 bond or $2,500 in cash.

In the afternoon of Dec. 9, a trooper with the Washington State Patrol reported to a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office that he parked next to a truck in the Ace Hardware parking lot and discovered the occupant had been assaulted.

The occupant, Burden’s girlfriend, told the deputy that the incident began on the night of Dec. 8 when Burden got upset that she was driving to another state to see her children. She said he repeatedly smashed her face into the console of a truck while she was driving, the deputy’s report states.

The woman said Burden’s anger continued the next day as she got ready for her trip. He accused her of calling the police, which she hadn’t done, and closed a gate that kept her from driving away, the report states.

Burden then pointed gun at the woman’s face, saying that she was not leaving and that he was going to kill her, the report states. He allegedly said that Jesus was coming and that Jesus was telling him “to do this,” the deputy wrote.

Burden ran around to the passenger side of the truck, but the woman locked the doors. He threw a large rock through the passenger window, breaking the window and hitting her on the leg, according to the report.

After that, the woman put the truck into reverse and rammed through the gate to escape, the deputy wrote.

The deputy noted that the woman had multiple small lacerations to her face and “large deep bruising” on her hip.

In 2020, the sheriff’s office filed an extreme risk protection order against Burden, which described violent behavior. The report states that he had held a knife to his own throat and asked his then-wife to help kill him. In addition, he allegedly threatened to shoot and kill his wife and other family members, assaulted his wife and had a habit of wearing a pistol while intoxicated, the petition states.

The judge ordered Burden to surrender his firearms.