IPSWICH — An Ipswich man is being held without bail after allegedly firing a gun toward his mother, missing her by inches, during an argument over his drinking, police say.
Philip Burek, 39, of 88 Town Farm Road pleaded not guilty to charges that include attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60 and firearms charges during his arraignment yesterday in Newburyport District Court. He will remain in custody at least through Thursday, when a hearing on whether he poses a danger is scheduled.
Ipswich police were called to the Burek home Thursday afternoon by a roommate who told police that Burek had just fired a shot toward his 61-year-old mother.
Burek's mother had just returned home from work and confronted her son, who had been drinking, according to a police report.
She and the roommate went outside to do some yard work when they heard a shot from inside the house.
When they went inside, Burek was holding a gun toward his head and threatening suicide, telling the women that he would be dead before they could get police to come.
Then he began walking toward his mother, saying, "It's your fault," and fired a Glock handgun, missing her by a short distance, according to the report.
Police found the gun, with one round of ammunition left inside, on a table. They found several other guns in the house, including another Glock handgun, a shotgun, a rifle and three other handguns. They also found ammunition for five types of gun, including .40-caliber hollow point bullets, and a high capacity feeding device for one of the Glocks.
Burek had once held a valid firearms license, but that expired in 1999. Because of that, he's facing several firearms charges, including carrying a firearm without a license, firing a weapon within 500 feet of a dwelling and possession of a large capacity feeding device.
Police also seized a bottle of cranberry juice that had been mixed with vodka.
A Breathalyzer test showed that Burek's blood alcohol level was .19, more than twice the level at which someone is considered too impaired to drive.
Attempted murder, the most serious charge Burek is facing, carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
