GREENFIELD — Two grandmothers arrested after a gun was fired in Greenfield’s Riley Park remained in jail at press time as prosecutors worked to determine what criminal charges the women might face.
Cristy Horton, 45, 772 E. Washington St., Monticello, and Tammy Brickles, 47, 2316 W. Walnut St., Greenfield, were taken into custody Monday evening after a civil dispute between their families ended in gunfire, according to police.
The incident happened in Riley Park, near the Old Log Jail Museum, 28 N. Main St., around 6:15 p.m. Monday.
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It began as an argument about child visitation, but became physical and a gun was fired. A bystander, who was in the park at the time, called 911 after hearing the shot, police said.
Investigators determined Horton was the one who pulled the gun and fired it, officials said. She was booked into the Hancock County Jail on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness, pointing a firearm, intimidation and battery.
Brickles was booked in a preliminary charge of battery.
The fight in the park was the third time police were called Monday because of disputes between Horton’s and Brickles’ families, according to 911 dispatch records.
Horton called 911 around 1 p.m. Monday to say she and her daughter had tried to pick up her grandson to take him to the Hancock County 4-H Fair; but the child’s father’s fiancé wouldn’t allow them to visit with the boy, she said, records show.
A neighbor also called 911 around the same time to report the family’s disruptive fighting, records show.
Police met with both families and told them they needed to contact their lawyers about the visitation discrepancies and work out their issues courteously.
A few hours later, around 4:30 p.m. Monday, the child’s father called 911 to say the child hadn’t been brought home on time, records show. Again, he was told he needed to contact his attorney for further help, records show.
The families were reportedly meeting in the park to exchange the child when the final altercation took place around 6:15 p.m. Monday, said Lt. Randy Ratliff, the head of the Greenfield Police Department’s investigations unit.
It’s still unclear if the gun Horton had was fired intentionally or if it went off accidentally in a struggle, Ratliff said.
No one was injured by the gunfire and no property was damaged; but one man, 26-year-old Jonathan Brickles, received a cut to the hand in a struggle for the gun, police said.
Members of both families were taken to the Greenfield Police Department for questioning. Horton and Tammy Brickles were then booked into the jail around 9 p.m. Monday, records show.
Officers to not anticipate any additional arrests, Ratliff said.