Franklin County man arrested accused of capturing ex-wife’s boyfriend throughout custody swap | Messages

A custody change at a Spruce Pine community business resulted in an assault charge for a Spruce Pine man after he shot and killed his ex-wife’s boyfriend in front of the ex-wife and two children, the sheriff’s office said Franklin County on Tuesday with.

The sheriff’s office said deputies responded to a “shots fired” call Monday and found the suspect still at the scene but the victim already en route to a nearby hospital for treatment. According to multiple witnesses, including those involved in the shooting and customers of the store, the man – identified as 29-year-old Jonathan Tyler Garrett – made “vulgar remarks … towards his ex-wife”.

Those comments led to an altercation and physical altercation, the sheriff’s office said, prompting the ex-wife’s boyfriend to intervene. When Garrett went to his vehicle to get a gun, the friend did the same, and Garrett was the first to shoot.

The bullet hit the ex-wife’s boyfriend in the arm. The sheriff’s office said he fired back in self-defense but missed Garrett. The friend then exited the scene with Garrett’s ex-wife, their child, and the friend’s child in the car.

“The deputies were able to determine through testimony that Jonathan Garrett was the primary aggressor and that the victim acted in self-defense,” the sheriff’s office said.

Garrett faces one count of first-degree assault and three counts of reckless endangerment. He remains in the Franklin County Detention Center awaiting a bail hearing.

The sheriff’s office thanked the Russellville Police Department for their assistance in the case.