Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Three injured in Christmas Eve domestic altercation that involved a pistol
Lawrenceburg Now
Three people were treated at the local hospital for injuries they sustained in a domestic altercation at a Cocke Street home on Christmas Eve.
According to reports filed through the Lawrenceburg Police Department, officers responded to 330 Cocke Street just after noon. They arrived to find that a mother and two adult sons had sustained some fairly serious injuries.
The mother, age 42, told officers that her father had passed away during the night, and that one of her sons, twenty-eight year old Michael Wayne Berryhill, had become enraged when she refused to hand over financial documents. The mother, along with her nineteen year old son and his girlfriend, reported that they had been in a bedroom talking when Berryhill entered, demanding the documents. They said when the mother refused to hand them over he produced a .380 pistol from his waistband, cocked it, and pointed it at her. The younger brother said that the pistol had been pointed at him, as well. After she refused to surrender the documents a second time, they said that Berryhill went to another part of the home, and that they attempted to leave.
The trio said they were confronted at the front door by Berryhill and that the brothers began to fight. They reported that Berryhill began to wield a glass beer mug and that it shattered when he used it to strike his brother. They said that the mother attempted to intervene, getting between them, and that Berryhill then began striking her with the broken mug. As a result, the officer noted that she sustained some serious lacerations to her head and right arm.
Berryhill denied the accusations, claiming that during the ruckus his mother had begun to wield a utility knife. He said that he attempted to walk away, but that he was struck in the back of the head and grabbed from behind. He said that he began swinging the mug in an attempt to escape. He admitted that he was in possession of the handgun during the dispute, but said that he never brandished it.
All three received treatment for their injuries at Southern Tennessee Regional Health Systems.
Officers noted in their report that two children belonging to Berryhill, who also resideds at the address, were present throughout the altercation. They noted poor living conditions in the home, including the presence of cockroaches, food lying about, and “general filth.” As a result, they referred the matter for further investigation through the Department of Children’s Services.
Berryhill was placed under arrest on charges of aggravated domestic assault and held at the Lawrence County Detention Center under a $10,000 bond. An initial appearance in General Sessions Court has been scheduled for February 2, 2017.
