Inset: Paula Kohensky (St. Charles County Corrections). Background: The St. Charles County Department of Corrections (St. Charles County).
A woman in Missouri is accused of firing a gun in the direction of her neighbor because of a property-line feud between the residents.
Paula Kohensky, 60, has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. She posted $50,000 bond to be released from police custody.
On Sunday, Kohensky was at her home in St. Charles County, which is located just west of St. Louis. At the same time, her neighbor was installing metal "T-posts" on his property, he said in a probable cause statement filed in the case.
The man said he "incorrectly positioned one, causing it to become misaligned with the remaining fence line," so he grabbed an "electric side grinder and proceeded to cut the fence post off at ground level."
The defendant stated she heard a loud "metal" sound near the fence and "sparks emitting from underneath a tarp" shortly after she exited her home, "which she claimed frightened her," police said.
"Get away from my fence," she reported yelling at her neighbor, whose shadow she saw, police said. She held a gun at this time, "at which point she claimed it accidentally 'went off,'" according to the court document.
The neighbor, for his part, "indicated he believed he heard yelling while operating the side grinder, then a voice counting down '3, 2, 1,' followed by a gunshot," the probable cause statement reads. He then reportedly picked up the post and walked to his garage.
The defendant's husband grabbed the weapon from her, and, according to Kohensky, she heard her neighbor say, "Call the sheriff," police said.
Officers responded to the scene and spoke with all the relevant parties. They learned that there was an ongoing feud between Kohensky and her neighbor.
"Scene investigation revealed the victim had been kneeling at ground level while cutting the fence post, placing him within the apparent directional path of the firearm discharge," the probable cause statement goes on.
Video surveillance footage reportedly showed the defendant "pointing the firearm at a slightly lowered angle," which apparently tracked with the "ballistic defect in the tarp" as well as the "presumption that the suspect discharged a firearm directly towards the victim's position," according to law enforcement.
An investigator reportedly found a spent handgun casing "directly adjacent to the location where surveillance footage depicts the suspect standing," the charging document continues.
Kohensky is due to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 2.
Comments