MITCHELL – A Mitchell man was arrested early on Wednesday after Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputies received a call at 3 a.m. requesting a welfare check on a woman in the 900 block of WPA Road.
The caller reported the woman was involved in a domestic violence situation and 52-year-old Richard Byrd Sr. had fired a weapon during the incident. The caller reported he didn’t think Byrd had shot at the woman. The woman left the night of the incident, but she returned later to the home to retrieve some personal items. Since then, no one has heard from her.
When police arrived at 3:41 a.m. they saw Byrd in the living room through the window. Officers announced their presence and Byrd came to the door. Officers asked to speak to the female.
Byrd told police the woman was sleeping. Officers requested Byrd to wake her so they could speak to her.
When officers spoke to the woman, she stated she was okay and that Byrd had taken the firearm to his mother’s house.
The woman told police that on Sunday, November 6th she and Byrd had “got into it”.
She stated that Byrd choked her that evening, but she didn’t call the police because she was afraid. She confirmed that when she attempted to leave that Byrd fired two shots but not at her.
Officers asked the woman if the shots fired were more out of frustration and anger or if she believed he was trying to scare or intimidate her, and she advised, “probably a little bit of both at the time.”
At this time, the woman did not want to press charges and everything was settled between them.
The woman claimed she “feels safe for the most part” and refused to sign a battery affidavit.
Byrd told officers that he did try to refrain the woman from leaving. He admitted that he unhooked the battery cable and pulled the spark plug wire on her vehicle.
He admitted he did fire a shot into a tree and fired a shot into the ground saying “it was not the best judgment call”. He said he “had pretty much just snapped”. He said he and the woman had been “in a pressure cooker for a while”. He stated it always ends the same way where “the woman is punching him in the face, and he grabs her by the throat and pushes her up against the refrigerator before letting her go and breaking things and walking away from the fight”.
Byrd said he did grab the woman by the face, but that was after taking a shot in the ribs with a candlestick. He told police he had been up for quite a long time and was tired. He stated there was “arguing and yelling, and they both made bad comments to each other, and his comment after hers is what started the violence”.
Officers then spoke to the woman again and she said “Richard’s comments set off the violence”, but admitted she made some comments, too. She said, “he grabbed her face first before she hit him with the candlestick”. She stated she “hit Richard with the candlestick after he let go of her because she was mad”. She then said she does not believe Richard was really trying to hurt her”.
Byrd was detained and transported to jail on charges of domestic battery and strangulation.
