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Sombrero jokes reportedly lead to gunshots
By Justin Wier
AUSTINTOWN
A man is accused of firing a gun while drunk after an incident that occurred May 14.
A woman said Richard Boyd, 34, of Austintown, became angered when he saw her and her boyfriend joking around with a wig and sombrero they found in a bedroom in his Vermette Drive home.
The couple had attended a cookout at Boyd’s house Saturday evening. They said he was visibly intoxicated and went to bed before returning to find them with the wig and sombrero shortly after midnight. The woman told police Boyd thought they were making jokes about his Hispanic heritage.
The couple went to leave, and when an altercation over car keys became physical, the woman’s boyfriend called police. Boyd told police he put the boyfriend in a headlock.
The woman told police Boyd went to a gun safe in his garage and came back and fired three shots. Boyd’s girlfriend, who was also present, told police she heard gunshots.
Boyd denied firing a gun but refused to let officers review footage on his security cameras. Officers reportedly recovered two 9 mm shell casings from the driveway.
Police charged Boyd with using weapons while intoxicated Thursday.