Man on Riding Mower under Arrest for Allegedly Firing at Repo Man

Salyersville, KY – 3 June 2016 – A Magoffin County man was arrested on Monday after allegedly shooting at a repo man from his riding mower while reportedly repossessing his vehicle.

According to the arrest citation, Kentucky State Police Trooper Johnson was dispatched to a call of a vehicle repo worker who was shot at while repossessing a vehicle at OJ Barnett Cemetery Road in Salyersville on May 30.

When police arrived, the worker’s vehicle had bullet holes through the rear glass windshield and in the rear passenger fender, and the repossessed vehicle had a bullet strike to the fender. The victim described the shooter as a white male with gray hair, no shirt, and shorts, riding a lawn mower and waving an automatic rifle with a wood stock. The victim told police that the gunshots sounded like a .22-caliber.

Trooper Johnson made contact with the property owner, James C. Barnett, 54, who reportedly said that people were on his property and he locked the gate, according to the arrest citation. He told police that the truck took his car and tried to run him over, according to police reports.

A spent .22-caliber casing was located in the driveway of the residence, according to the citation.

Barnett told police that he had not fired his weapon that day and his wife retrieved the loaded .22-caliber automatic rifle with wood stock from inside the residence.

A gunshot residue test was conducted on Barnett and sent to the lab, with the rifle held for evidence.

Barnett was held and released, pending future court dates, from the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center. He is currently charged with first degree wanton endangerment, first degree unlawful imprisonment and first degree criminal mischief.

Editor’s Note: The indictment or charge of a person by a grand jury or otherwise is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Source: Salyersville Independent