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Man charged with firing shots into occupied home

By For The Greene County Messenger 3 min read
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CLARKSVILLE – State police said a Clarksville man was charged with nine felony counts of aggravated assault and numerous other charges after he allegedly fired a rifle Sunday morning into an occupied Morgan Township home.

Police allege that John Edward Moore, 39, fired a .22 caliber rifle into a house occupied by Jessica Johnston, Ladonna Lingenfield and seven juveniles with ages raning from a 1 to 16 years old.

Police said the alleged incident happened around 12:20 a.m. Sunday at a residence within Teagarden Homes.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the office of Magisterial District Judge Glenn Bates, state police were dispatched to the residence and were told by neighbors from a nearby residence that Moore had fired a shot in their direction. Moore then came outside the rear of the residence to speak to police and appeared to be highly intoxicated, the complaint states.

Police said Moore first denied firing any shots but then related that he fired one shot into his garden behind his house with the rifle and that he was protecting his property; he then told police that he was there earlier in the evening because he believed that youths were vandalizing his house and vehicles, the complaint states.

As police talked to Moore, a state trooper walked over to the neighbors’ residence and observed a bullet hole near the kitchen window, which indicated that a bullet had apparently passed through the wall and across the kitchen into another wall, the complaint states.

Moore then showed police where he put the rifle, which was found to have one spent casing and 14 live rounds in it, according to reports.

Police then interviewed Johnson and Lingenfield, who reported that state police had been at the residence at 7 p.m. earlier that day because Moore was accusing their children of throwing something on his porch. They told police that at approximately 12:15 a.m. they saw Moore outside the residence holding a bat, wearing a ski mask and yelling obscenities at them, the complaint states.

The two women then reported that they heard Moore beating on something behind his residence and then saw him come out beside his house holding a long rifle; they said he then fired a shot that struck the house near the kitchen window and six of the seven juveniles were in the kitchen area with them when the shot struck the house, the complaint states.

According to court documents, Moore was charged with nine counts of aggravated assault, nine counts of reckless endangerment, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

Moore was arraigned Sunday by Bates, who set bond at $25,000 straight. He posted bail on Monday, according to court records.

A preliminary hearing was initially scheduled to be held before Bates on Dec. 9 but it has been continued until further notice.

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