An Elizabethton man faces a felony charge after police say he fired a gun towards another man and then pointed the gun at his head.
Officers of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Alan Lyle Jansma, 41, of 203 W. Mill St., Elizabethton, and charged him with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
On Tuesday, deputies with the Sheriff’s Office were called to a home on Willard Perkins Road in Roan Mountain after someone called 911 to report someone firing a gun. Upon arriving at the scene, Deputy Michael Malone spoke with Jerry Shell Jr., who told officers a man he knows only as “Alan” had fired a gun at him and threatened to kill him. Shell said his girlfriend, Jessica Johnson, used to date “Alan” and that she and “Alan” have a child together.
Shell said earlier in the day on Tuesday Johnson was at “Alan’s” home for a visitation with the child and she called him.
“While speaking with Ms. Johnson on the phone, Mr. Shell advised that ‘Alan’ took the phone from her and began talking to Mr. Shell,” CCSO Deputy Chief Investigator Michael Little said. “While speaking with Mr. Shell, he advised that ‘Alan’ told him ‘You son of a b****, I’ll kill you.’”
Shell told officers about 45 minutes after that phone call he saw a white mini-van pull onto his property and the man he knew as “Alan” got out with a pistol in his hand.
“Mr. Shell stated that ‘Alan’ fired one round from the pistol towards Mr. Shell, which he said struck the ground between his legs, causing gravel to fly upwards and strike his right let,” Little said. “Mr. Shell then stated that after firing the initial round, ‘Alan’ charged towards him, placed the barrel of the pistol between his eyes and said ‘If I ever see you around her again I’ll blow your d*** brains out.’ After making this threat, Mr. Shell stated that ‘Alan’ then walked away towards his vehicle and fled the scene.”
While investigating at the scene, Little said Malone recovered a spent 9mm shell casing near the area where Shell said ‘Alan’ was standing when he fired the shot.
Little said during the investigation he was able to identify “Alan” as Alan Lyle Jansma and Shell was able to identify Jansma out of a photographic line up as the man who fired the gun at him.
According to Little, a witness to the incident corroborated Shell’s statement about what happened at his home.
Later in the day, officers were able to locate Jansma and place him under arrest.
Jansma appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court on Wednesday where he was arraigned on the charges against him. Judge Keith Bowers Jr. appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent Jansma and set the man’s bond at $10,000. Bowers also ordered Jansma to have no contact with the victim.