Jeremy Franklin, 44, of Festus has been charged with several felonies after he allegedly threatened his wife and a 10-year-old boy with a gun on Saturday night (April 30) in Festus, authorities report.
Franklin is the child’s stepfather, according to the probable-cause statement.
Lewis said Festus Police got a call at 10:15 p.m. about a domestic disturbance on North Fifth Street, Lewis said.
“We arrived and he had the gun in his hand,” Lewis said. “He gave up the gun without incident. He admitted he’d pointed it at his wife and the 10-year-old child.”
Franklin’s wife told police she and her husband were arguing about punishment for her son when Franklin pointed a gun at her and said he would kill her, the probable-cause statement said.
She said Franklin held the gun to her head and refused to let her and the boy leave the home.
In addition, Franklin’s wife said he “fired, but the gun didn’t go off” and then “he tried to cock it back and pointed it at (her) son,” the report said.
While Franklin’s wife was calling police, Franklin continued to point the gun at his wife and the boy, according to the report.
Eventually Franklin’s wife was able to get out of the house through an attached garage.
Franklin’s wife is 45, Lewis said.
A 20-year-old family member also was in the house at the time, Lewis said.
“He ran out of the house,” Lewis said.
He said the weapon the suspect used in the incident is a .50-caliber Desert Eagle.
“It’s about as large of a handgun as there is,” Lewis said.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Franklin on Monday with first-degree domestic assault, a class A felony, and with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and felonious restraint, both class C felonies.
The penalty for a class A felony is 10 to 30 years or life in prison. The penalty for a class C felony is up to seven years in prison.
Franklin was being held Monday in the Jefferson County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.