Photo: Leland Ray Smith
A Stone County man has been arrested, after he allegedly fired a .22 caliber revolver while on horseback at a resident of Fifty-Six, as a 7-year-old boy stood beside him.
According to the probable cause affidavit, officers from the Stone County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence along State Highway 14 Thursday. The deputies learned a man at the home had been in a verbal dispute with 63-year-old Leland Ray Smith, also of Fifty-Six.
As the resident of the home stood in his yard near the front door of the residence with the boy, he was reportedly approached by Smith and a second man, who were both on horseback.
The resident of the home said Smith pointed the revolver at him and allegedly said he should just shoot him. As Smith went to ride off, he reportedly turned and fired the weapon at the man.
Debris from the shot striking concrete ricocheted and struck the boy in the leg, causing redness but no injury.
Deputies later located Smith and the second man on horseback along Gaylor Road.
Upon making contact with Smith, they observed him take a pistol off his side and toss it down a fence row. He was also observed tossing a pill bottle into the front double doors of his residence.The second man, who has a felony warrant for absconding, fled the scene.
Smith allegedly made a spontaneous statement, saying the victim tried to tear up a bridle of his and was mad about his girlfriend being at his house, so he shot at him.
With a search warrant, the pill bottle was obtained. Inside was a small amount of marijuana and two pills. Four loaded hunting rifles and a shotgun were recovered from Smith’s bedroom.
Smith has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, along with single counts of possession of a firearm by a certain person involving the commission of another crime, meaning he is a convicted felon, and first-degree terroristic threatening. He also faces a misdemeanor count of possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance, marijuana.
His bond was set at $20,000.
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