Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Weapons Drawn In New Year’s Eve Domestic Situations

   At least three domestic altercations reported through local law enforcement agencies on New Year’s Eve involved weapons being wielded in a threatening manner.

   All three incidents were reported through the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday.

   During the first incident, deputies were dispatched to intervene when a young man allegedly threatened his grandmother with a shotgun.

   The grandparents reported that their grandson and his girlfriend had come into the house, and that she had been crying. When they asked their grandson, “who smelled of beer,” what was wrong, they report that he became irate and began cursing.

   According to the grandmother, the young man began pushing her and she grabbed a knife “for protection.” She told deputies that her grandson got a shotgun, then threatened to shoot her.

   The grandfather was reportedly able to get the gun away from the younger man, then put it away. He told deputies that he had pushed the safety button, but that he was not certain whether it had been on or off at the time. Deputies indicated that the safety had apparently been off during the altercation.

   When they questioned the grandson, Timothy Ray McMullin, about the incident, deputies report he admitted he had pointed the shotgun at his grandmother and threatened to shoot her. As a result, McMullin was placed under arrest on charges of aggravated domestic assault. He is scheduled for an initial appearance in Lawrence County General Sessions Court on January 14.

   Around 11:00 p.m. deputies were dispatched to 191 Mt. Nebo Road in Loretto where a young couple had become involved in a dispute over their child.

   The twenty-two-year-old victim told deputies that she and her ex-boyfriend had a disagreement over the telephone regarding his new girlfriend being around their child. She stated that he asked her to come to his home to discuss the matter. There, she said, they continued to argue.

   At one point, she told deputies, he pushed her against the car and punched her in the left jaw. She stated that as she pulled away in her vehicle, he shot one round from a shotgun into the air. He did not, she reported, point the gun at her.

   Deputies advised the victim about the process of obtaining a criminal summons.

   During the last incident, deputies were summoned to intervene when a forty-five-year-old woman and her husband became involved in an argument over a New Year’s Eve party.

   The victim stated that her husband had asked her to “go party” for New Year’s Eve. Indicating that she had to work the following day, she refused. At that point, the woman reported, her husband opened the drawer on the night stand and asked her “which knife she wanted to be cut with.” She indicated that he then grabbed her by the shirt and choked her.

   The woman left the home for the night with relatives. At the time the complaint was taken no charges had been filed in the case.

   At the current time all three cases remain under investigation through the department’s Criminal Investigation Division.

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