By Cary Rosenbaum
The Chronicle

     OKANOGAN – An Omak man has been booked into the Okanogan County jail on charges of first-degree assault after an alleged shooting Monday around 2 p.m., officials said.
     The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office said 22-year-old Saul S. Durkee fired two rounds from a .22 revolver at Eric S. Hamner, 44 of Malott – one of which hit him in the leg.
     Hamner drove to Mid-Valley Hospital to seek medical attention as Durkee ran away from where the incident occurred, outside of Clean Image Car Wash, 2049 N. Second Ave.
     Sheriff Frank Rogers said a friend of Hamner’s asked him to go pick up Durkee in Okanogan.
     Hamner complied, and took Durkee to a trailer in Omak where he went in and came back with what appeared to be nothing, Rogers said.
     Driving back to Okanogan, Hamner told authorities that Durkee began acting erratically and became infuriated, at which point he asked his passenger to get out of his vehicle.
     Durkee then allegedly pulled a gun on Hamner, and during a fight between the two, bullets were fired, Rogers said.
     Hamner eventually got Durkee to leave the vehicle and hid the weapon inside while he made his way to medical care, Rogers said.
     Durkee, who hung around the area near the Flying B Gas Station, 2024 Elmway, was confronted by officers who had their guns drawn, Rogers said.
     Rogers said Durkee is no stranger to law enforcement, with several charges that stem back to his days as a juvenile.
     No motive is known, as Durkee “pleaded the fifth (amendment)” upon arrest, Rogers said.
     Hamner is in stable condition and was cooperative in the investigation, Rogers said.