MOORESBURG — A Mooresburg man was charged with attempted second-degree murder after he allegedly attempted to shoot his neighbor in the head over an altercation about his dogs.
According to a police report by Deputy Benjamin Shanks, on Thursday at around 10:43 p.m., officers with the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a house on Dean Road in Mooresburg regarding a shooting.
Officers made contact with the victim at his father’s house, where he went following an altercation with his neighbor, Ronald Eugene Goff Jr., 50.
The victim told officers he was at home when he heard around seven to eight gunshots, so he decided to take his son’s 2016 Toyota Tacoma out to investigate. Further down the driveway, he found Goff parked on the road near his home.
He drove up next to Goff’s vehicle on the driver’s side and learned he was the one firing the shots.
According to an affidavit by Detective Michael Lipe, Goff told the victim that he was shooting at his two pit bulls. The victim warned him that this was dangerous behavior and that he should probably keep his dogs tied up on his property.
According to the police report, Goff then made a threat toward the victim.
“The victim then told Goff if he kept his dogs up and, on his property, he could avoid these problems,” Shanks said in the police report. “The victim stated that Goff got angry when he made that statement and told him, ‘I will kill anybody who tells me what to do. I won’t have a dog; I have to keep up.’ The victim then made the statement, ‘there is no need to threaten to shoot anybody over a dog,’ and then Goff told the victim, ‘boy, you don’t know who you are messing with.’ ”
According to the affidavit, after this statement, Goff reached out with his left hand to grab the victim’s left shoulder and pull him closer. Goff then proceeded to pull out a black handgun and hit the victim in his left temple.
The victim started to fight back and used his left arm to trap Goff’s arm and grab the gun with his other hand. At this time, just as the victim grabbed the gun and pushed it away from his head, Goff pulled the trigger, according to the affidavit.
Due to the victim’s actions, Goff was unsuccessful in shooting the victim and took off down the road.
The victim decided to go to his father’s house to be checked out by family, and along his way, the victim passed Goff and said he heard four to five more gunshots.
As officers examined the victim, they found injuries consistent with his story, including a scratch on his right hand. They also found a bullet hole in the sun visor, and officers were able to follow the bullet’s trajectory to locate the used cartridge in the roof of the truck.
According to the affidavit, the victim told officers that he was in fear for his life. As a result, the officers issued warrants for Goff’s arrest on the charges of attempted second-degree murder, possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony and felon in possession of a handgun.
On Saturday at approximately 7:24 p.m., Goff was arrested at his residence by officers with the HCSO.
He was charged with reckless driving, reckless endangerment, failure to exercise due care and speeding 21 miles over the limit.
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