An Ozark County woman, 43-year-old Angela Brake of Gainesville, has been charged in connection with an incident on September 12 when she allegedly shot a man in the lower right leg with a .357 revolver.
The Ozark County Times reports Brake faces a felony charges of assault by seriously injuring a victim and armed criminal action. If convicted, she would face a sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison or life imprisonment.
According to the probable cause statement, Ozark County deputies responded to a report of a shooting on Quaint Drive, off Highway 5. They found the victim lying on the front porch of the home with a bullet wound to his lower right leg, and Brake was near him. The revolver was found a short distance away, in a bush, near the victim.
Brake reportedly told officers she and the victim had gotten into an argument, and she had asked him to leave. Brake said the victim walked outside the house and asked her for the keys to his vehicle. Brake told officers she went into her bedroom, retrieved the keys and also the revolver from under her pillow. She went to the front porch and asked the victim to come to the front of the home.
Brake said the man then came toward her aggressively, so she aimed the gun at him, told him to stop and fired the weapon. She said she continued toward him, and the two fought over the weapon, causing it to discharge again. Brake said she was then able to go into the house and call 911.
The victim reportedly had a different story. He told officers the two had an argument, and Brake had asked him to leave the residence. He said he went to his vehicle, and Brake followed him, entering the vehicle and sitting in the passengers seat.
He said he told Brake he needed his keys, and she went into the residence to get them, but when she came outside she threw the keys over his head and then shot him in the leg. He said he tried to get the gun from Brake, and the gun went off again. He said he never saw the weapon until after it was fired.
The Baxter County Sheriffs Department performed a gunshot residue (GSR) test on the victim, which can give officers insight into the presence of certain materials on the hands and clothing of a subject in hopes of determining if an individual discharged a firearm. Results of the test were not included in the probable cause statement.
Brake is scheduled to appear in Ozark County court Tuesday. Her cash-only bond was set at $10,000.
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