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A St. Joseph Police officer orders an individual to the ground Wednesday morning on Felix Street after a shots fired call came in. Law enforcement took the individual into custody. No one was injured in the incident.

The sound of a semi-automatic pistol fired into the air sent police scrambling to a Downtown parking lot Wednesday morning.

The state charged Cortez D. Villanueva, 40, Wednesday afternoon with a class A misdemeanor of unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the incident. No one was hurt.

Officers converged on the parking lot across from a Felix Street addiction treatment center at about 9:17 a.m. Wednesday after several people in the Downtown area reported hearing multiple shots fired.

Richard Woodley, a police officer on the scene, spotted a white male and Mr. Villanueva walking across Felix Street.

“Get down on the ground,” Mr. Woodley said as he drew and aimed his pistol.

Mr. Woodley repeated the order several times before the men complied.

“The two men had their backs to me and didn’t appear to be paying any attention,” Mr. Woodley said. “They may not have noticed I was there.”

Mr. Woodley hadn’t turned on his squad car lights or siren. As he repeated the orders, he continued walking toward a white male, who was wearing a striped golf shirt and blue jeans, and Mr. Villanueva, who had braids, stood about 5’11” and weighs about 300 pounds. Both men were taken into custody.

Police transported Mr. Villanueva to the Law Enforcement Center.

Officers released the white male a few minutes later.

Police believe Mr. Villanueva and the other man had a tussle in the parking lot, shoving each other. Police officers seized a semi-automatic pistol from the trunk of a red Chevrolet and recovered six shell casings found on the ground at the rear of the car.

The white male told the News-Press he’d seen Mr. Villanueva at the Family Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare’s addiction treatment facility, 917 Felix St., Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning, the two ran into each other at a local gas station and the white male convinced Mr. Villanueva to accompany him to the treatment center.

“I didn’t know he had a gun,” said the man, who did not want his name published.

After the shots were fired, the unidentified man said he struggled with Mr. Villanueva, took the gun and put it in the trunk of his vehicle because he “didn’t want to see anyone hurt.”

Mr. Villanueva remains in the Buchanan County Jail in lieu of posting a $10,000 bond. No date for arraignment has been set.

Gary Hammond, Family Guidance’s executive director, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Marshall White can be reached

at marshall@npgco.com.