Discharging Firearm Lands Middlesboro Woman in Jail
From WRIL The Big One -
According to a citation, on Tuesday after noon September 29th, a woman came to the Middlesboro Police Department to report that she a found a bullet hole in the shower and the bullet in a towel in the bathroom of her Exeter Avenue apartment.
Officer Adam Southern states in the report that officers responded to the neighboring apartment making contact with resident 55-year-old Teresa Stout who gave them consent to enter and look inside the residence. Stout stated that she had a small revolver located in her bedside table and she gave consent to retrieve the firearm for investigative purposes.
She told officers that she had no knowledge of any incident involving a firearm however, after her rights were read, she told officers that she got the gun sometime during the previous week. She went on to say that while she was in her bedroom, she accidentally discharged the firearm inside the apartment, striking the wall.
Teresa Stout was arrested and lodged in the Bell County Detention Center charged with wanton endangerment – 1st degree. She has since been arraigned in Bell District Court.
The charge of first-degree wanton endangerment seems to hinge on the fact that the bullet traveled into a neighboring apartment where someone was living, which is a serious risk even if the discharge was accidental. I'm curious whether the initial report of a bullet hole in the shower and a bullet found in a towel suggests the round passed through more than one surface before stopping. That trajectory detail could matter a lot in how the case is evaluated.
Useful reference: https://collagemaker.org/