Douglas Dale Taylor, 59, has been charged with four felonies for allegedly threatening his wife with a gun and firing into the ground at their home in the 3200 block of Clara Drive in Arnold.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged Taylor with first-degree domestic assault, a class B felony punishable by five to 15 years in prison; unlawful use of a weapon, a class E felony that carries a penalty up to four years in prison; and two counts of armed criminal action, each one an unclassified felony punishable by three to 15 years in prison, according to court documents.
Taylor was being held Nov. 4 without bond at the Jefferson County Jail.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, Taylor’s estranged wife called Arnold Police at about 10 p.m. Oct. 22 and said he was holding her against her will because he was angry a family member had taken his car to run an errand. The two began to argue and then Taylor allegedly went to his bedroom, got a .380-caliber loaded gun, pointed it at his wife’s head and threatened to shoot her and then himself, the report said.
The woman reportedly ran to the basement and exited through a basement door but then returned to the home through the front door, where Taylor confronted her again. Taylor allegedly pointed the gun at the woman again and said, “I am tired of this (expletive). I don’t know whether to shoot you or shoot myself,” according to the report.
Taylor then reportedly went outside and fired a single gunshot into the yard. Arnold Police said the bullet and shell casing were found in the front yard. Police also said the shell casing matched the bullets in the gun’s magazine, the report said.
When police questioned Taylor, he reportedly admitted to pointing the gun at the woman. He also allegedly said he “blamed his frustrations against the victim on numerous years of disrespect,” the report said.
