A Brown County man has been charged with multiple felonies after police say he threatened his neighbor and his neighbor’s friend with a gun for tracking a deer near his property.
On Nov. 25, police responded to the 5000 block of Gatesville Road for reports of shots fired. A man told him that his neighbor had shot at his friend.
The man told police that he had given permission to let two people hunt on his property.
The two shot a deer and wanted to tell the man’s neighbor, Jeremiah I. Fulps, 36, that they were going to track it close to his property, says a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Williams.
One of the hunters called his father to go talk to the property owner, the report said.
When the hunter’s father went to Fulps’ house, dogs ran toward him and he ran back to his truck, the report said.
The hunter’s father said Fulps was yelling for him to get off his property. When he was trying to get back in his truck, Fulps held his door open and threatened to smack him in his face and made other threats, the affidavit said.
The hunter’s father said he was able to calm Fulps down, the two exchanged phone numbers and Fulps invited him inside the house where a woman also had a gun. While talking with Fulps inside, the hunter’s father received a phone call from Fulps’ neighbor, checking in on him and asking if Fulps was “being stupid again.”
This caused to Fulps to get upset and he accused both of them of conspiring against him, the affidavit said.
Fulps asked the man to leave his home, and while he was looking for a flashlight on his phone to make his way to his truck, Fulps came out of the home, threatening to shoot him. When the man got within 10 feet of the truck, he heard Fulps shoot a shotgun into the ground and Fulps told him he was going to shoot him, the police report said.
The man said he was trying to “frantically” calm down Fulps as Fulps ejected a shell and put another round into the chamber, then pointed the shotgun at him. He said he grabbed the barrel of the gun and forced it down, the report said.
While walking away, the man said Fulps pushed him, and as he was leaving in his truck, he heard more gun shots. Fulps then called the man and told him that if he steps on his property again he would kill him, the affidavit said.
Witnesses heard Fulps threaten him on the phone and they filled out statements, the report said.
Fulps also called his neighbor and told him that “he was barking up the wrong tree and he better watch his back,” the report said.
When police first arrived at Fulps’ home after speaking with his neighbor, he told police not come to any closer without a warrant. Williams wrote that Fulps’ attitude was “very abusive.” Fulps refused to show the officer his hand, and Williams started to draw his weapon; but then, a woman inside the home made him cooperate, the report said.
Fulps told the deputies that he had no problem with tracking a deer on his property and that he had called his neighbor to say he didn’t want any trouble and to leave him alone. He said he was “not the type of guy to ever threaten anybody” and that he wanted the police to leave, the report said.
Before police left, Fulps asked to come out and speak with them “man to man,” but then he became upset a few minutes later and told police he thought “this was a shakedown” and wanted them off his property, the report said.
The second time police arrived, Fulps refused to come out of his home and officers were instructed to get a search warrant before returning.
On Nov. 29, Fulps was charged with intimidation, a Level 5 felony; criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony; pointing a firearm, a Level 6 felony; and intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor.
