A Carter County man and his mother both face charges following a weekend dispute at the home of a relative where the man reportedly brandished a firearm.
On Sunday afternoon, officers of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Brandon Coleman, 19, of Elizabethton, and his mother, 42-year-old Betty Simerly, also of Elizabethton. Officers charged Coleman with three counts of aggravated assault under domestic violence and Simerly with filing a false report and being an accessory after the fact to aggravated assault under domestic violence.
Shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday, CCSO Deputy Tylor Johnson, Lt. Derrick Hamm and Sgt. Issac Rhea responded to a home in the Tiger Creek community after 911 received a complaint of a domestic altercation involving a gun.
When officers arrived, they spoke to three individuals at the home regarding the call to 911. Coleman’s girlfriend reported he had struck her in the face and choked her.
In his report on the incident, Johnson said the woman identified as Coleman’s girlfriend “had a busted left eye socket and red marks all over her neck.”
Coleman’s aunt and a man at the home said they saw Coleman choking his girlfriend. The aunt said after Coleman assaulted his girlfriend he “pulled a gun on her.”
The aunt told officers that her sister, Simerly, had left the scene with Coleman before officers arrived.
After officers left the home, 911 dispatchers reported they had received a call from Simerly, who wanted to speak with officers about the incident. Johnson said when Simerly spoke with the officers she told them she had assaulted Coleman’s girlfriend and that her son had not been involved in the altercation.
“Mrs. Simerly stated the reason she took Brandon from the scene was to prevent him from getting arrested,” Johnson said. “Mrs. Simerly also stated that Brandon had jumped out of her vehicle on Gap Creek Road and was walking somewhere. Upon further investigation it was found that Brandon was dropped off at 2140 W. G St., Lot 52, by Mrs. Simerly.”
Johnson said officers found Coleman at that address and arrested him. Officers also arrested Simerly.