Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Charleston, WV: 1 dead, 1 wounded in Charleston domestic shooting

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston police said a woman who was shot at a West Side convenience store early Saturday had filed a domestic violence petition against her attacker, but it had not yet been served because he had been admitted to a local psychiatric hospital.

Police responded to a 911 call of shots fired at the 7-Eleven at 1300 Bigley Ave. on Charleston's West Side shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday. They found Joyce Good, 41, of South Charleston with a gunshot wound to her arm, according to Criminal Investigation Division Sgt. Bobby Eggleton.

The man who allegedly shot Good, Larry Boner, 45, of St. Albans, reportedly ran from the scene. Witnesses in the area said they heard an additional gunshot ring out shortly after the first one, according to Eggleton.

K-9 unit's tracked Boner to an alley behind the 7-Eleven, where he was found dead by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to Eggleton.

Good was taken to the CAMC General and is listed in stable condition.

Eggleton said the shooting was domestic related and, at one point, Good and Boner had lived together, but not at the time of the shooting.

Good filed a domestic violence petition against Boner on June 8, Eggleton said, but no law enforcement agency had served the petition before the shooting. Eggleton said Boner had been at Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital, a West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources-supported psychiatric hospital in Huntington.

Eggleton said Boner was told to stay away from Good when he was released from Bateman. Eggleton was not sure when Boner was released from the facility.

According to Good's statement to police, Boner showed up at Good's house in South Charleston sometime during the evening and "forced her to take a ride with him," Eggleton said.

Good told police they were going to Elkview, but that she somehow convinced Boner to stop the car at the West Side 7-Eleven, Eggleton said.

"She went inside the 7-Eleven and told the clerk to call the 911," Eggleton said.

When Good exited the store, Boner fired three shots at her, hitting her once in the arm, Eggleton said.

After shooting Good, Boner reportedly took off down an alleyway behind the convenience store toward Spring Street. Witnesses said that, when sirens could be heard, a second shot rang out, Eggleton said.

"Domestics are the most-answered call by law enforcement, there is no doubt about that," Eggleton said. "I understand, in a domestic situation, that emotions run high, but when you get to a point of violence and a 'If I can't have you, nobody can,' viewpoint . . . that is not love. That is control."

Domestic incidents that end with one person hurting their partner and then taking their own life are "rare."

"I hear about it occasionally," Eggleton said, "but, thank God, it's not as frequent as it could be."

Eggleton said the whole situation is "awful. One good thing you can say about this guy is that he was at that hospital. Maybe he was trying to seek some help."

Eggleton said there was a hearing date scheduled regarding the petition for July 19.

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