The Bay County Sheriff's Office responded to a call on June 13, 2012, from a distraught mother, reporting her neighbor had held a handgun on several children, including her own, until she came and confronted him. The group of six children ranged in age from 4 to 16 years of age.
The mother of several of the victims stated to deputies she had received a call at about 8:30 p.m. from her 16 year old son telling her to come get him and the group of young children that were with him. Her son was driving the group of younger children around the neighborhood in a recreational vehicle. He told her they were at the address of 4036 Deerpoint Lake Drive and she needed to come right away. The mother could tell her son was under stress and she took a friend with her and went immediately to the home.
Once at the home on Deerpoint Lake Drive, she saw a man, Jerry Lee Fulcher, DOB 5/29/45, in the yard holding a firearm and standing near her son. The younger children appeared frightened and were huddled around her 16 year old son, crying. The two women approached and Fulcher warned them not to come closer. The women persisted, ordering the children into the vehicle, and the 16 year old drove them away. The women also left and immediately called law enforcement.
The children spoke with deputies and told them that Fulcher had come out of the home on Deerpoint Lake Drive, holding a firearm, when they used his driveway to turn their vehicle around. He had ordered all of them out of the vehicle and onto the ground and, using profanity, asked them if they knew what would happen to them if he used the gun. The oldest child, the 16 year old, pleaded with Fulcher, explaining why he had driven onto the driveway. According to the children, Fulcher singled out the teenager, holding the gun to his head, demanding he lift his head from the ground and look down the barrel of the gun. Fulcher then asked if the teenager knew what would happen if he, Fulcher, pulled the trigger.
Fulcher took the 16 year old into the home and shut the door and told him to call someone to come get the group. At that time, the teenager called his mother and, in order not to further agitate Fulcher, did not explain the situation, but simply told her to come right away to 4036 Deerpoint Lake Drive. Fulcher then took the teenager back out of the home to wait with the rest of the children.
After taking statements from the children and the women, deputies and investigators from BCSO Criminal Investigations approached the home at 4036 Deerpoint Lake Drive in Southport, and Fulcher answered the door. He allowed law enforcement into his home and told them he had a gun on the counter. The gun was secured. Fulcher stated to the deputies that he had confronted the children holding the firearm. Fulcher was arrested, charged with False Imprisonment and Aggravated Battery, and taken to the Bay County Jail. He was been held without bond in anticipation of additional charges, which were placed on Fulcher today. He is now charged with an additional five counts of Aggravated Assault and five counts of False Imprisonment on a child under thirteen, a first degree felony. Fulcher will face first appearance tomorrow.
===
Information provided by the Bay County Sheriff's Office
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WMBB. All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
