JACKSON COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A domestic dispute leads to a father claiming that the argument was about a sick horse , which he was attempting to cut open to determine why it had died.
The Jackson County 911 Center received a report of a domestic situation on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at approximately 10:30 pm. A caller stated that his girlfriend’s father, James Gould, had her pinned down, and there was also an 11-year-old involved. Later, he would say that he no longer had her pinned to the ground and that they were arguing. He then said that James was now using a knife to cut open a dead horse.
Sgt. Lt. B.A. DeWees and, with Ravenswood Units, Prechtl, and DeGraef, C.R. Saltsgaver responded. EMS units from Jackson County also arrived and staged at the bottom of the road.
DeWees, Prechtl, and DeGraef arrived on the scene around 11 pm. Dewees noticed that James and the caller were standing off the right side of the driveway and that James’ daughter, a victim, and her younger brother were on the left side. The female victim first approached DeWees, stating she desired to speak with a police officer other than her father. DeWees had her return and talk with the Ravenswood units.
Dewees was then drawn nearer by James, and he expressed that he requested to be talked with first since it was his property. He was placed in handcuffs and detained due to James’s past interactions and the possibility that he had a knife on him. James was found to have a large knife in his pocket when DeWees checked for weapons.
Dewees put James into the rear of his vehicle and made clear that he was being kept and not in custody. Dewees then instructed James concerning his Miranda rights.
James claimed that they got into an argument about their sick horse, which he was attempting to cut open to determine why it had died, at which point the female victim came at him and started punching him. He claimed that she kept punching him, so he finally brought her to the ground. He then stated that his son entered and assisted the victim by jumping on top of her.
James stated that he restrained her to the ground until the situation settled down. He expressed that they had been arguing away the entire day and that he had requested that she leave. James did not appear to be hurt, according to DeWees.
DeWees then talked with the female victim. She stated that James had returned home, and when her brother entered, he informed her that James had completely slashed her horse. He started panicking when she said she went outside to check on things. Then, she says that James grabbed the child because he was crying.
She thought it was because of the horse, but James told her he was going to Virginia with him. The female spoke up and said that he wasn’t because he had school tomorrow. She stated that she was attempting to obtain the child, but James grabbed her by the shoulders and began to bury his fingernails in her.
She expressed she began hitting him, trying to ward him off and get her sibling, and James then, at that point, snatched her by her wrist
also tossed her on the ground, where she hit her head, and he then, at that point, held her down.
She claimed that he pushed and then grabbed her when she reached for the child. She said that after that, things got better. James told the caller to call 911, and we arrived. The female claimed that the back of her head was hurting, but she denied that she required emergency medical services (EMS).
After that, Dewees spoke with the caller. He expressed that previously in the day, James had been obnoxiously mishandling the female victim, and afterward, he had left, and they were fearing for him to return home.
He then, at that point, expressed the child had returned home from a birthday celebration and came in and let them know that James was outside cutting up the pony.
The caller claimed that he was in the bathroom when he heard a scream, so he went outside and saw James and the female victim fighting. After that, he observed James slam the victim to the ground and smother her. Then he dialed 911.
The caller said James’s lack of sleep for at least two days made him believe he was on something. He expressed that the victim lives at home and that he invests most of his energy there.
After that, Dewees contacted the child. He claimed that James had instructed him to accompany him to Virginia to assist their cousin but that he did not want to because he had school tomorrow. When the female tried to get the child from James outside, they started pushing, and James knocked the female to the ground. He expressed that he snatched his father and threw him off, bounced on his sister and James, and then, at that point, held them down.
DeWees, Saltsgaver, and DeGraef, walked over and observed the dead horse lying on its side in the building, its stomach cut open and its intestines beginning to emerge.
The horse’s death was unrelated to any other injuries that DeWees observed.
After that, James was taken to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department for processing after being taken into custody for a single charge of Domestic Battery. James was then moved to South Central Regional Jail.
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