Shot In The Ass & You're To Blame. You Give Love A Bad Name.

[Mighty_Emperor]

Attempted Murder Charge

Story by Gina Bennett on Thu, Nov 6th 2003 (5:24 PM)

A man who Chattanooga police say tried to kill his live-in girlfriend is scheduled to be in court Friday.


Montgomery Hilton Garner, also known as Montgomery Wells, is charged with attempted murder.

A police report says Garner put the barrel of a 38 revolver in the rectum of his girlfriend and then pulled the trigger.

Roxanne Arrowsmith was taken to Erlanger Medical Center.

Investigators say she suffered very serious internal damage.

http://www.newschannel9.com/vnews/1068157477/

Suspected Shooter Competent to Stand Trial

Story by Gina Bennett on Mon, Dec 8th 2003 (5:43 PM)

A Chattanooga man, accused of shooting his girlfriend in the rectum, has been ruled competent to stand trial.


Montgomery Garner is charged with attempted first degree murder, after, police say, he shot Roxanne Arrowsmith.

Judge Mike Carter had ordered a mental evaluation for Garner when he was in court a month ago.

Garner's attorney, Doug Curtis, says the extension is to give Arrowsmith more time to heal.

The competency evaluation at Joe Johnson Mental Health concluded Garner was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts.

He's back in court December 22nd.

http://www.newschannel9.com/vnews/1070923382/

 

[Stormkhan]

I'm sorry but was this an erotic act gone wrong? Was she laying down unaware and, suddenly, he got this gun and ...? Pardon me, but there is something definitely wierd about this. Was she a willing participant? Unwilling?

For all the pain and unpleasantness, there is something fascinating about this report!

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Hmmmmmmmm I don't know - it just sounds like he was an arsehole (no pun intended). From a longer piece:

They said she at first did not tell police what happened because she was concerned due to Garner being abusive to her.
She later said he was upset and intoxicated when he penetrated her rear with the barrel of a .38-caliber revolver and fired the weapon.

chattanoogan.com/articles/article_44279.asp
Link is dead. Here is the complete article, salvaged from the Wayback Machine. It includes some information concerning the woman's injuries and subsequent medical condition.

Man Who Shot Girlfriend In Rectum Ruled Not Insane
posted December 8, 2003

Forensic examiners say a man charged with attempted first-degree murder for shooting his girlfriend in the rectum is not insane.

Todd Wiggin and Dr. Kenneth Nickerson of the Joseph Johnson Mental Health Center said Montgomery Hilton Garner understands the legal process, what he is charged with and the consequences of his acts.

They said an insanity defense could not be sustained for Garner, 41.

Garner was due for a hearing in General Sessions Court on Monday morning, but it was delayed. Officials said the victim, Roxanne Arrowsmith, still is unable to come to court to testify.

She has undergone numerous surgeries is in serious condition in Erlanger Medical Center since the incident Oct. 26.

Police said the victim suffered "very serious internal injuries."

They said she at first did not tell police what happened because she was concerned due to Garner being abusive to her.

She later said he was upset and intoxicated when he penetrated her rear with the barrel of a .38-caliber revolver and fired the weapon.

It occurred on Oak Ridge Drive.

The shooting tore portions of her bladder, intestines, colon, stomach, and liver, which all had to have portions removed.

Garner was on probation for a previous domestic assault against the same victim.

He is on $1 million bond on that probation violation as well as another $1 million bond on the attempted murder.

SALVAGED FROM THE WAYBACK MACHINE: https://web.archive.org/web/20050904205658/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_44279.asp

In the mean time ... This 17 November news article was published on the occasion of her initial release from the hospital.

Woman Shot In Rectum Finally Released From Hospital
Monday, November 17, 2003

The woman who was shot in the rectum by her boyfriend is being released from Erlanger Medical Center after six surgeries, her family said.

Roxanne Arrowsmith had 22 days of intensive treatment and trauma treatment after being shot by Montgomery Hilton Garner, it was stated.

Her family said she will have home nursing. They said she is also an MS patient.

A mental examination was ordered for Garner, who is charged with attempted first-degree murder in the Oct. 26 incident. ...

SOURCE: https://www.chattanoogan.com/2003/11/17/43515/Woman-Shot-In-Rectum-Finally-Released.aspx

 

[Imperial_Call]

Would someone pick my jaw back off the floor for me, and jam my eyes back in their sockets?

 

[Anonymous]

im suprised anyone could servive such a thing, let alone be avalible to not answer questions.... surely the gass expansion alone would....well..u can imagin.

 

[Imperial_Call]

I'm not listening jon!

<sticks fingers in ears>

la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la

 

[Stormkhan]

I've heard of a snub-nosed gun, but a brown-nosed one ...?

 

[Anonymous]

Hands up anyone who is now clenching.

 

[Anonymous]

Would someone pick my jaw back off the floor for me, and jam my eyes back in their sockets?

*scoop* *plop* *plop* now look at me... there you go...

I assume he could have done the pop-bang in a single smooth movement, but the fact she survived probably means she was struggling. Also the point blank nature of the assault, coulpled with the fact you've got one of the few bits of anatomy that can cope with expanding gas may have contributed, since the heated gas could have cauterised the wound/ sterilised the bits flying about and at that range a 38 would make a neat entry and a slightly messier exit, but not a whole lot messier... Depends on the round.

All in all its terrible it happened and pyrrhic (from her POV, at the moment) it didn't kill her.

 

[Yithian]

Arrowsmith? Right genre but surely its Bon Jovi?

 

[EnolaGaia]

Update ... The surreal saga of this case continued, and the story became even stranger than initially reported. Two years later a mistrial was declared when the shooter was finally tried in court.

Mistrial Declared In Case Of Girlfriend Shot In Rectum
Tuesday, December 6, 2005

A jury had begun hearing testimony Tuesday in the case in which a man allegedly shot his girlfriend in the rectum, but a mistrial was declared.

Criminal Court Judge Doug Meyer said the mistrial was declared because defense attorney Larry Young asked a question about the alleged victim being in Moccasin Bend Psychiatric Hospital.

The case in which Montgomery Hilton Garner is charged with attempted first-degree murder will have to be rescheduled.

Garner has been in custody since the incident Oct. 26, 2003. ...

Judge Meyer said the issue of the alleged victim's stay at Moccasin Bend was not supposed to be brought up without a hearing on the issue. Attorney Young said he had not been clear on that ruling.

After the attorney asked Roxanne Arrowsmith about Moccasin Bend, she also said that prosecutor Jay Woods had told her not to get into that issue. Prosecutor Woods said that statement coupled with the question by the defense attorney "made me lose all credibility with this jury." ...

After the mistrial, attorney Young suggested that the case be settled. But prosecutor Woods said the case was more serious than to allow him to get 8-10 years.

FULL STORY: https://www.chattanoogan.com/2005/12/6/76898/Mistrial-Declared-In-Case-Of-Girlfriend.aspx

 

[EnolaGaia]

Update #2 ... More than another year following the mistrial the case was dismissed on appeal and the shooter was released for a single night before being put back in jail to face a federal charge.

Man Who Allegedly Shot Girlfriend In Rectum Stays In Jail
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A man who was formerly charged with shooting his girlfriend in the rectum will have to stay in jail until he faces federal gun charges.

Magistate Bill Carter on Wednesday afternoon said he found that Montgomery Hilton Garner is a flight risk as well as a danger to the community.

Garner spent three and a half years in jail awaiting trial in the Oct. 26, 2003, incident in which Roxanne Arrowsmith was shot in the rectum. She survived, but has undergone numerous surgeries.

An appeals court threw out the case on a technicality. Garner had one night of freedom before he was picked up on a charge relating to the use of the weapon. ...

He could get up to 10 years on the federal charge.

ATF Task Force Officer David Ashley testified that Garner and the girlfriend first said the shooting was accidental.

He said Ms. Arrowsmith later said Garner was upset and he grabbed her by the legs, pulled them apart, put the gun's barrel in her rectum and pulled the trigger.

Garner later said he crawled in bed with Ms. Arrowsmith, cuddled up to her and the gun went off in her rectum. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.chattanoogan.com/2007/3/21/103998/Man-Who-Allegedly-Shot-Girlfriend-In.aspx

 

[EnolaGaia]

Update #3 ... Believe it or not, the story became even weirder ... A 30 January 2008 news item from the same local newspaper puts a whole new spin on the story, and it's even less pleasant than the limited versions revealed above. This item was quoted on a gun-related forum at the time of publication:

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Woman_shot_in_rectum_____lives__/5-668756/?

The text below is consistent with the newspaper's items cited earlier. However, the original link is dead and the Wayback Machine didn't archive it. In any case, the online documentation trail for this case seems to end with this 2008 article.

Woman Says Garner Shot Her In Rectum As His Mother Watched

Federal Judge Considering Possible Punishment
posted January 30, 2008

A woman who suffered multiple internal injuries after she was shot in the rectum Oct. 26, 2003, testified Wednesday that the gunman's mother watched as she was shot.

Roxanne Arrowsmith said the mother of Montgomery Hilton Garner told her she had better do as she was told during an incident on a bed in the mother's bedroom.

Federal Judge Sandy Mattice is deciding what punishment Garner should get on a guilty plea to federal gun charges.

His normal punishment range would be 21-27 months, but prosecutor Chris Poole argued that Garner was trying to kill Ms. Arrowsmith and the punishment should be more severe.

Judge Mattice said he would rule later after the attorneys file legal briefs.

Garner remains in federal custody.

Ms. Arrowsmith said Garner and his mother moved into her home, and she claimed he kept her a virtual prisoner, threatening her and telling her what to do.

She said she had met him at a skating rink, and she said they were romantic for about three months, but did not have relations after that. But she said he and the mother continued to stay at her home.

Ms. Arrowsmith claimed he repeatedly abused her as well as her Pomeranian dog. She said he kicked the dog down a flight of stairs.

The witness said Garner once blackened her eye with a full beer can, that he choked her on another occasion, and pistol-whipped her face another time.

She said he seldom worked and that he would send her out to get beer and cigarettes. She said he is an alcoholic.

Ms. Arrowsmith said she finally moved out to a room at a Best Western motel. She said she finally ran out of money there and went back to her house. She said the incident happened soon after that.

She said she was sleeping on a recliner and Garner, who she said kept three guns in the house, summoned her to the bedroom occupied by his mother.

She said Garner had a gun and she pleaded with him not to hurt her. She said the mother showed where Garner had fired a shot in the floor and told her, "You'd better do what he says. He's already shot in the floor."

Ms. Arrowsmith said she believed if she tried to run she would be shot in the back, so she said she got up on the bed with Garner. She said, "I knew that if I had tried to run, I would have died."

She said he put the barrel of the gun into her rectum as she cried, "No, Monty, don't. Please don't."

She said he pulled the trigger and she felt pain and saw blood. She said she exclaimed, "Oh, my God, you shot me."

She said Garner and his mother got her out of her clothes and put her in a nightgown, but did not call for help for about an hour. She said she was told to say she had shot herself.

Ms. Arrowsmith said she told them, "Please call 9-1-1. I don't want to die."

She said on the 9-1-1 call from Garner that the mother could be heard saying, "She shot herself."

The defense said they concede that Garner did pull the trigger.

Ms. Arrowsmith said she woke up in a hospital 12 days later and was there most of the next four months.

She said she has had about two dozen operations.

She said the bullet split into three pieces, with one piece going into her liver, another into the colon, small intestines and stomach, and the third piece coming within a millimeter of her heart.

She said, "I lost half of my internal organs, including my stomach. I can't eat anything except what a baby eats."

She held up a paper bag of pills she takes daily.

Ms. Arrowsmith claims the Garners were after her house and car. She claims family members stole most of her furniture while she was in the hospital.

The witness, who said she was on disability because she has MS, said she lost her house and car while recuperating.

She said she seldom leaves her present residence because she is afraid of Garner and his family.

Under cross-examination, Ms. Arrowsmith said she has been diagnosed as bi-polar.

Garner escaped punishment in state court after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that the case be dismissed, saying former Criminal Court Judge Doug Meyer should not have granted a mistrial in the case. Since he did, it would be double jeopardy for another trial to go forward against the defendant, the ruling said.

The mistrial in state court was declared after issues went before the jury on the victim's mental state. Prosecutor Jay Woods asked for the mistrial after attorney Larry Young questioned the victim about a hospitalization for previous mental health treatment.

Garner spent three and a half years in jail awaiting the state trial that was never held.

CITED SOURCE: chattanoogan.com/articles/article_121053.asp
Link is dead. No archived version found.