The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
When two Arkansas neighbors allegedly combined alcohol, a bulletproof vest, and a rifle, the ill-advised blend resulted in class D felony charges for both men.
On March 31, 50-year-old Charles Ferris, and his 36-year-old neighbor Christopher Hicks were hanging out together and enjoying some drinks on Ferris’ backyard deck.
At some point in the evening, Ferris decided he would wear a bulletproof vest. While donning the body armor he allegedly got it in his head that he should goad Hicks into shooting him in the chest using the loaded rifle.
When Hicks allegedly complied with Ferris’ hounding, he reportedly aimed and landed a shot in the man’s chest as requested.
Ferris was reported as not finding the feat as enjoyable as he’d anticipated and allegedly became angry by the pain the bullet caused him when it made an impact with the body armor.
In what has been deemed as an act of retaliation, Ferris was said to have fired the remaining five rounds of ammunition at Hicks, who had put on the bulletproof vest after allegedly taking the shot at Ferris.
A short time after being hit with the round Ferris decided to make his way to the hospital due to the amount of pain he was experiencing.
A deputy with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office went to the hospital to find out what had occurred during the incident. Ferris, who was reportedly not fully coherent at the time, allegedly weaved a tale to the deputy about having taken the gunfire while performing a security job for which he was hired to do by someone he had encountered at a bar.
In the affidavit, the deputy declared that Ferris said he was given $200 to protect an “asset,” and he was the victim of random gunshots when he was hit and injured.
When his wife reportedly went to the hospital to see how her husband was doing the deputy asked her if she knew anything about the events of the evening leading up to Ferris going to the hospital. The woman allegedly said that Ferris and Hicks were on the porch drinking and she heard a gunshot. She said when she asked her husband if everything was alright he assured her that it was.
Both Ferris and Hicks were arrested and charged with aggravated assault. In addition to a $5,000 bond, they were both issued no-contact orders preventing them from interacting with each other. The men could spend up to 6 years in jail for the weapon-related hijinks if they are convicted as charged.
If you or someone you love is suspected of aggravated assault, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.