A 24-year-old Clinton man who threatened his wife with a loaded rifle will be spending the next nine months in the county jail.

Daniel Gardner pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in Island County Superior Court on Nov. 16.

On July 15, Gardner pointed a loaded .22 caliber rifle at his wife’s face and neck, pressing it against her skin and threatened her, saying “if you don’t get out of my house, I am going to kill you,” according to court documents.

Gardner pointed the gun at his wife in front of their 3-year-old child. The child told investigators that his dad tried to kill his mom. Gardner later admitted pointing the gun at his wife, but said he was only trying to scare her.

Gardner was sentenced to nine months at the Nov. 6 hearing.

Gardner was originally charged with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, but the prosecutor dropped the deadly weapon enhancement as part of the plea bargain. A deadly weapon enhancement adds a mandatory three years in prison to the sentence.

Read more about courts and crime, subscribe to the Whidbey News-Times.