A Marion County woman has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault following an incident in which she is alleged to have fired a rifle at her neighbor following the death of a pet.
According to an arrest affidavit filed Thursday, 49-year-old Laura Atherton of Yellville is alleged to have fired the weapon after her neighbors’ dogs got loose and killed her cat.
Marion County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a complaint from the neighbors Sunday afternoon on County Road 8050. One of the complainants said the death of the pet reportedly occurred Sunday morning, leading Atherton to fire two rounds from a rifle in her direction. The second complainant approached Atherton, at which time she allegedly pointed the rifle at him, and it jammed.
When a deputy made contact with Atherton, he noted she appeared to be intoxicated. Atherton advised when she discovered her dead pet, she retrieved a rifle to shoot one of her neighbors three dogs. She maintained she was so upset she had fired shots in the general direction of her neighbor, but did not hit anything. She also said when the second complainant came to her house to inquire what was going on, she had pointed the rifle at him, but said it wasn’t loaded. She also added it was a good thing it wasn’t loaded, because she probably would have shot him.
When a second officer retrieved the .22 magnum bolt-action rifle, he dropped the magazine and ejected one round from the chamber.
Atherton was taken to the Marion County Detention Center, with her bond set at $20,000. She is scheduled to appear in Marion County Circuit Court in November to answer to the charge.
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