A Carter County woman faces a felony charge after police say she admitted to pointing a rifle at her husband during a domestic dispute.
Deputies of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Melissa Finney, 49, no address available, and charged her with aggravated assault under domestic violence.
On Friday afternoon, deputies of the Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in the Fish Springs community on a report of a domestic dispute involving a firearm.
When Deputy Paul Morrell arrived on scene he said he spoke with a man who told the officer he came out of his bedroom and found his wife pointing a .22 caliber lever action rifle at him.
“(He) advised she stuck the rifle into his stomach, at which point he was able to wrestle the firearm away from her and leave the residence,” Morrell said. “He then gave me a house key so that I could make entry in the event his wife would not open the door.”
Morrell said he and CCSO Sgt. Issac Rhea attempted to get Finney to come to the door but she would not. Morrell said he and Rhea then entered the home and located Finney sitting on the couch in the living room.
“I immediately noticed the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Mrs. Finney,” Morrell said. “I then asked Mrs. Finney what had happened, to which she replied she and her husband had been in an argument.
“I asked her if a firearm had been involved, to which she replied she had picked up the gun and pointed at Mr. Finney and ordered him to leave,” Morrell added.
Morrell said he asked Finney why she had to point a gun at her husband and she said her husband had come toward her in a threatening manner and she needed to protect herself. When officers asked the woman if she had been injured she told them she had not suffered any injuries.
Officers arrested Finney and transported her to the Carter County Detention Center where she remains held under a $10,000 bond.