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Last updated on Friday, September 13, 2013
(BLOOMFIELD) - A Linton man accused of pointing a gun at another man after their dogs got into a fight has agreed to be plead guilty to the crime of carrying a handgun without a license.
Brandon C. Cunningham was scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court this morning to enter a change of plea and be sentenced.
Anna Rochelle, of the Greene County Daily World reports, the case against Cunningham was filed on July 18 and the court sent him a summons to appear for an initial hearing on August 26 when he was formally charged with a class A misdemeanor.
The charge stems from an incident that occurred on July 15. Officer Chad Crynes of the Linton Police Department was dispatched to a location on NE G Street about a verbal argument between neighbors.
Melvin Wilder, told police he had just returned home from work and was outside his home when three female juveniles were walking a dog by his house.
According to police, Wilder says the girls let their dog into his yard next to a fence where his dogs were/
Wilder's dog jumped the fence and went after the other dog. Wilder broke the dog fight up and put his dog back into his fenced yard.
A witness, who was sitting in a vehicle in front of the home when the incident happened, told police the same story. He also told police that about 10 minutes later, Cunningham walked onto Wilder's property and started yelling, then pulled a gun and pointed it toward Wilder's abdomen while continuing to yell obscenities.
The witness could not confirm what Cunningham pointed was a gun, but did tell police it was a shiny object.
Wilder told police that Cunningham came into his yard, was screaming at him and "got into his face". The two exchanged words and that is when Wilder alleges Cunningham pulled a revolver, pointed it at him and threatened to kill Wilder's dog if he saw him out.
The witness also told police he heard the word kill, but he didn't hear who or what Cunningham had threatened to kill.
Officers then went to Cunningham's home and he told police his children came home upset because their dog had been attacked by Wilder's dog and their dog was just barely in the neighbor's yard. So he went to talk to Wilder.
Cunningham at first told police he didn't have or own a gun, but later changed his story and said he had a handgun in his pocket when he went to Wilder's home.
Cunningham told police he took the gun out of his pocket and put it in the other pocket but did not point it at anyone.
After returning home, Cunningham told police, he had put the gun in his closet.
LPD Officer Tom Jerrels was assisting in the investigation and received consent to retrieve the gun, a Kel-Tec .32-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
Cunningham was not arrested at that time but was charged with a misdemeanor.
Officer Crynes ran a records check and reported Cunningham did not possess a valid handgun permit.
Under the terms of a negotiated plea submitted to the court on Sept. 4, Cunningham agreed to plead guilty to the one count, and to surrender the handgun involved in the incident to the police department.
According the agreement, Cunningham would be sentenced to 180 days in the Greene County Jail with all of it suspended, pay a $35 fine and court costs, perform five days of community work, and serve 359 days on probation with several terms and conditions including having no contact with Wilder. Cunningham must also complete anger management counseling.
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