County official pointed gun, made terroristic threats during family feud, GA cops say
A Georgia county official and his son were arrested after a family dispute sent one family member to the hospital with serious injuries, deputies said.
On March 20, deputies were called to a home in Lavonia Highway in Hartwell, a city about 40 miles northeast of Athens, for a family dispute that started the night before, Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland said in a news release.
The family dispute ended with a 61-year-old family member in the hospital with serious injuries after Jake Elliot Carter, 34, physically assaulted him in front of his grandchildren, FOX reported.
Carter was charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, terroristic threats and acts and three charges of cruelty to children in the third degree, deputies said.
His father, James Rick Carter, 64, was charged with terroristic threats and acts and pointing a gun/pistol toward another.
James Rick Carter is the commissioner for District 4 in Hart County and is running for re-election, WGAU reported.
In Georgia, a “terroristic threat” is when someone “threatens to commit any crime of violence, to release any hazardous substance” or to “burn or damage property with the purpose of terrorizing another,” according to Justia.
According to the legal information website, examples of “terroristic acts” include someone burning a flaming symbol with the intent to terrorize another, shooting at a conveyance transporting passengers or releasing any hazardous substances for the purpose of terrorizing another or causing the evacuation of place.
Sheriff Cleveland said the investigation is ongoing and “more charges are pending.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 12:48 PM with the headline "County official pointed gun, made terroristic threats during family feud, GA cops say."
