HANCOCK COUNTY — A man reported to have shot himself after sparking a domestic disturbance that turned into an hours-long ordeal involving the county SWAT team earlier this month has been charged in a county court.
Brian Allen Abney, 40, Greenwood, was booked into the Hancock County Jail Monday on charges of criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, intimidation, carrying a handgun without a license, pointing a firearm at another and domestic battery.
The charges stem from an incident that began on the evening of Dec. 10, when sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence in the 4400 block of Fortville Pike on a report of a dispute between a man and a woman involving a handgun. A woman who emerged from the home told deputies that a man, later determined to be Abney, was still inside, was armed and that he had pointed a gun at her and threatened to shoot her.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in support of the charges, deputies tried repeatedly over several hours to contact Abney. Finally, members of the Hancock County Joint Tactical Team entered the home and eventually found Abney in a crawl space in the attic.
Officers fired several pepper-ball rounds into the crawl space and heard a gunshot, prompting them to retreat and order the man to come out of the crawl space, the affidavit said. Abney emerged bleeding from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face before being taken into custody at 3:30 a.m. Dec. 11. A handgun was later found in the crawl space. Abney was treated at a hospital for the wound.
According to online court records, Abney entered a plea of not guilty in Hancock Superior Court 1 on Tuesday. A pretrial conference was scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 10.
