Man held gun to wife’s head and pulled trigger, Georgia cops say. He forgot to load it
A Georgia man is headed to prison after attempting to shoot his wife in the head last year, prosecutors said.
Ronald Charles Lynch, 51, was sentenced Aug. 11 after pleading guilty earlier this summer to charges stemming from an assault on his wife at their home in Canton, according to Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace. Authorities said Lynch pressed a gun to his wife’s forehead and squeezed the trigger — but it didn’t fire.
The gun wasn’t loaded.
A judge handed Lynch a 40-year sentence with the first 20 years to be served behind bars, the district attorney said. The remaining 20 will be served on probation.
“If there had been bullets in that gun, we would have been here for a murder trial,” said Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe, who helped prosecute the case. “His actions are inexcusable. This could easily have been a homicide.”
The incident unfolded March 11, 2020, when authorities said Lynch grabbed his wife then shoved her to the ground, according to a news release. He put the barrel of his gun to her head, though it only “clicked” when he pulled the trigger. His wife and child, who was present, escaped to safety when Lynch went searching for bullets in another room.
She called 911, and her child stayed on the phone with dispatchers throughout the ordeal, the district attorney’s office said.
Meanwhile, Lynch went to a neighbor’s house to look for his wife. Surveillance video showed him pacing on the neighbor’s front porch with a gun in hand, prosecutors said. Canton police soon showed up to arrest him.
In June, Lynch pleaded guilty to several charges including aggravated assault, three counts of simple assault, family violence and first-degree cruelty to children.
“Through this sentence, the defendant will be held accountable for his actions, and these victims and our community will be protected from this defendant,” Wallace said in a statement.
Canton is about 40 miles north of Atlanta.
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 8:34 AM with the headline "Man held gun to wife’s head and pulled trigger, Georgia cops say. He forgot to load it."