According to the victim the issue had begun a day or two earlier in an argument over skateboarding. The victim stated that the subject had followed him home in a car being driven by another subject and after arguing with him, pulled a gun on the victim and held it in his face. The victim stated he knew who the subject with the gun was and that he lived in the same general neighborhood. While Jackson Police Officer Jeff Courtney continued to interview the victim, the car with the two subjects drove by on Westview Lane toward Argonaut Lane.

The victim immediately pointed then out to Officer Courtney. Officer Courtney proceeded to get into his patrol car and began following the subjects. Because of the proximity of Argonaut High School and the allegations of the involvement of a firearm Officer Courtney elected to have backup units from Jackson, the Sutter Creek Police Department and the Amador County Sheriff’s Department wait down from the school on Hoffman Street. Once clear of the school, Officer Courtney initiated a felony traffic stop on the vehicle, a Honda Civic. Two subjects were then taken into custody without incident and after a vehicle search Officer Courtney indeed discover a firearm, a .38 caliber Sterling, hidden in the car. The gun was registered to a Butte County man. Arrested at the scene was Alek Schmidt, 20 years old of Jackson for brandishing a firearm and concealing a weapon. The driver of the vehicle, Gavin Birt, 20 of Jackson, was also arrested for transporting a firearm. Officer Courtney states that there was ammunition in the car although the gun appeared to be unloaded. The two young men were booked into the Amador County Jail.