An intoxicated man wielding a .22 rifle was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shooting at a pair of anglers who were fishing from a boat on a Missouri lake. The two fishermen told authorities the man, later identified as Levi James Coates, yelled at them for coming too close to his dock and then took aim and fired his rifle in their direction. Coats was arrested and charged with multiple felonies, according to court documents filed in Camden County and obtained by Outdoor Life.
The incident occurred Tuesday on Lake of the Ozarks near the village of Sunrise Beach. The Camden County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 9:04 p.m. from one of the anglers on the boat, who reported that they’d already been threatened by the man. The anglers later told a deputy that the man fired a shot at them while they were waiting on hold for the 911 operator.
“[We] were fishing in the cove for catfish when a man across the cove started yelling and threatening to shoot us if we got any closer to his dock,” one of the victims told Camden County Sheriff’s deputy David Shoemaker, court documents show. “At one point I looked back over at the house to see a man aiming a gun, located between the house and car. After seeing this, [the other angler] and I both crouched down behind the walls of the boat. Minutes later a shot was fired while [the other angler] was on hold with Camden County.”
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Shoemaker responded to the scene at 9:19 p.m. to find Coats with a .22-caliber rifle next to him. Coats appeared to be camping outside the residence with a tent and a campfire. During questioning, Coats admitted to shooting into the water but claimed he didn’t see any boats in the area.
Photo courtesy Camden County Public Records
“[Mr. Coats] claimed that he was shooting to ‘scare away’ raccoons so they would not enter his tent,” Shoemaker’s statement reads. “Mr. Coats was asked why he did not shoot the raccoons instead and he stated he could not see the raccoons.”
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Coats was then booked in the Camden County jail, where he took a preliminary breathalyzer test that came back positive for intoxicants. He also admitted that he had been drinking that evening.
Coats now faces four felony charges, including unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, and two counts of first degree attempted assault. He has entered a plea of not guilty and has requested public defender services. His bond was set at $100,000. Court documents also show that in 2022, Coats pleaded guilty to indecent exposure in Texas County, Missouri, and was fined $100.