Woman accused of shooting boyfriend with gun he gave her

Published 10:54 pm Friday, May 30, 2008

ARLINGTON — He gave her the western-style revolver with a wooden handle for Valentine’s Day.

She liked the gift. Then she allegedly used the gun — on him.

Fueled by a night of drinking at a local Eagle’s club, an Arlington woman, naked, aimed the .22-caliber handgun at the man and fired, court records said. The second of three bullets struck the man in the hip.

Prosecutors on Friday charged the woman with first-degree domestic violence assault. She was jailed on $50,000 bail. She also has an outstanding warrant for fourth-degree assault against the man.

Her boyfriend told investigators the woman, 40, has a severe drinking problem.

The two were arguing on May 7 when they decided to go out drinking, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor George Appel wrote. They ended up at the Eagle’s Club, where the man played some poker. The woman hitched a ride to her brother’s house from an ex-boyfriend, a friend of her live-in boyfriend. Her brother later took her home. The man who was shot told investigators he walked back to the house they share.

That’s when trouble broke out.

The man told police he found the woman in bed. She followed him into the living room and aimed the gun at him, Appel wrote. He felt two rounds whiz by him and then felt something strike his hip.

“I was freaking out because I didn’t think she’d ever do something like this,” the man wrote.

He called 911. She grabbed her cigarettes. Still armed and wearing only a shirt, she went outside to smoke. He told emergency dispatchers he would unlock the driveway gate.

The gate could only be opened by a remote control or a code. He told dispatchers he couldn’t remember the code. He picked up the remote from the woman and set out for the gate.

He wasn’t fast enough for sheriff’s deputies. The gate was locked when they arrived, so they rammed it with a patrol car.

A quarter-mile down the driveway they found the man limping toward them.

Police arrested the woman and found the gun in her van.

She told police the man pulled her hair, kicked her and threatened to retrieve his gun, court record said.

The couple each have a gun safe on their side of the bed.

The woman told police she and the man stood up at the same time and raced for their guns, Appel wrote. She grabbed her revolver from under the bed mattress. She ran into the kitchen and the man followed. She told police she squeezed the trigger, court papers said. She missed him and fired again, hitting the man in the hip. She fired a third time and missed again.

“I’m tired of getting beat up. It all started after my bath today and continued all day. So I got mine off before he did,” the woman allegedly told police.

She gathered her cigarettes, lighter and revolver and headed outside.

The man told police the woman had threatened to shoot him in the past but he hadn’t reported the threats, court records said.

Deputies searched the house and retrieved two spent bullets. A third bullet was found inside the man’s underwear at the emergency room. Police took photographs of the damage to the house.

They found a sign inside that read: “Cowboys leave your guns at the bar.”

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.