On August 11 at around 10 a.m., utility workers in the area of Berry Lane, just north of Hackett, reported a man brandished a handgun at them as they were performing their job duties.
According to the workers of War Eagle Line Service, they were working on utility lines in the area of Berry Lane when they noticed a Ford Mustang drive up and down the road in their vicinity. The vehicle passed by them several times recklessly driving, speeding, and the driver was yelling.
The foreman of the crew was uncomfortable with the situation and decided they would clear from the area. As they gathered their equipment to leave, they saw the driver of the Mustang in a yard in the 9400 block of Berry Lane. The workers stated the male subject saw them and went inside a mobile home. He returned quickly and stood on the porch with what they described as a shiny silver pistol. They left the area and called FSSO.
Deputies responded and arrested Austin Shelly, 21, of the Hackett area for Aggravated Assault. Shelly is currently in SCADC with no bond.
The silver pistol was not readily found. A search warrant was obtained for the mobile home and a subsequent search revealed two more rifles in the home which belonged to Shelly’s grandmother, Margie Shores. Shores, 57, a convicted felon, was charged with two counts of possession of firearms by certain persons. Shores bonded out of SCADC on the same day.
A pistol was recovered during the search. The pistol, as it turned out, was a toy gun.
