A 24-year-old Clinton man who threatened his wife with a loaded rifle will be spending the next nine months in the county jail.

Daniel Gardner pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in Island County Superior Court on Nov. 16 and was sentenced at that hearing.

According to court documents, the incident occurred July 15 when Gardner pressed a loaded .22-caliber rifle to his wife’s face and neck and threatened to kill her.

The couple’s 3-year-old child witnessed the incident and told investigators that his dad tried to kill his mom, according to the court record.

Law officers said Gardner later admitted pointing the gun at his wife, but said he was only trying to scare her.

Gardner originally was charged with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon. As part of a plea agreement, the county prosecutor dropped the sentence extension for use of a deadly weapon. That would have added three years to the sentence, upon conviction.