BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WARFIELD — A Martin County man is facing charges after a woman said he pointed a handgun at her during an argument at Dempsey Housing in Warfield.

Martin County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Aaron Michael Michael Jude, 30, of Debord, just after midnight June 17 on charges of first-degree wanton endangerment and second-degree criminal trespassing.

Deputy Billy Maynard responded to a 911 complaint involving Jude and Kelli Stacy. The caller reported that Jude had pulled a firearm and pointed it at Stacy.

The deputy said when he arrived, Stacy told him Jude had driven onto the property looking for her husband. She said she initially could not identify the driver and approached the vehicle to speak with him. Upon reaching the vehicle, she realized it was her ex-boyfriend, Jude.

Stacy reportedly told police the two began arguing after she told Jude she did not want him around her daughters and called him a “creep.”

The argument escalated, Stacy said, when Jude grabbed her arm and partially pulled her into the vehicle. She told police Jude then produced a handgun, racked the slide to chamber a round and pointed the weapon at her face.

Stacy said she immediately ran from the vehicle while Jude fled the area in a silver Pontiac G6.

Maynard interviewed three additional witnesses, all of whom provided statements consistent with Stacy’s account, according to the arrest report.

Law enforcement later located Jude at his aunt’s residence on Venters Branch Lane in Debord. Jude allegedly admitted he had been at Dempsey Housing and acknowledged arguing with Stacy, police said.

According to Deputy Maynard, Jude stated that he saw several people walking toward him and chambered a round in his firearm in an effort to scare them away.

Jude told officers the weapon was a Taurus 9mm pistol with an extended magazine and initially claimed he had given it to his brother.

However, officers said when they interviewed Jude’s brother, he denied seeing Jude that day. He allegedly said Aaron Jude was “lying about giving him the firearm.”

Police said Jude later produced the handgun from beneath a pile of clothing in a closet inside his aunt’s bedroom. He allegedly said it was the same firearm he had during the incident at Dempsey Housing.

According to the report, Jude told officers he lied about giving the gun to his brother because he did not want law enforcement to seize it, saying the firearm held sentimental value.

Management at Dempsey Housing told police Jude had previously been barred from the property.

Jude was lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.

All individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.