A Cabool man is in jail on $500,000 bond and faces a trio of felony weapons charges resulting from a Cabool Police Department investigation Saturday evening.
Rodney M. Murphy, 68, of 2547 Cabool Apartments, No. 19, is charged with armed criminal action (an unclassified felony), unlawful possession of a weapon (a class D felony) and unlawful use of a weapon while intoxicated (a class E felony).
A Cabool officer reported that he responded at about 8 p.m. to a report of shots fired at a Hickory Avenue apartment.
Upon arrival, the officer was met by a man who claimed Murphy had been at his residence about five minutes earlier and accused him of stealing a pistol during a first responder call that evening.
The man said Murphy had then gone back to his apartment and fired off a shot outside, according to a report. Another man told the officer he heard what sounded like a shotgun blast.
The officer set up outside Murphy’s residence and called in several more officers to assist. Murphy was called out of the apartment and taken into custody.
During questioning, the officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol, and Murphy reportedly admitted to drinking whiskey and several beers. He admitted to firing a shotgun into the ground in the back yard of his apartment.
Murphy reportedly told officers an ambulance had come by earlier and the crew seized his pistol, which made him angry. He said he fired the shot so law enforcement would come and get his gun back. Evidence of the shotgun being fired was observed by officers.
During a safety sweep of Murphy’s apartment, two 12-gauge Stevens shotguns were seized, along with a Hi-Point 9-milimeter pistol and a Mossberg .22 caliber rifle. Officers determined that one of the shotguns had been used to fire the shot.
Murphy was taken to the Texas County Jail.