GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A 31-year-old Gainesville woman was arrested Tuesday after police said she allegedly attacked her husband in August and pointed a firearm at him during a separate argument the following week.
According to a Gainesville Police Department report, Courtney Rae McGowan and her husband argued on Aug. 29. The husband told officers McGowan locked him outside after he failed to say “please” when asking for something. He said she later came outside and stood over him, leaving him concerned that she was about to strike him. The man also told police that McGowan had been physically abusive toward him for roughly six months.
The husband said he got up and moved around a table in an effort to create distance. McGowan allegedly told him, “The table isn’t going to stop me” and “I’ll jump over the table.”
McGowan then allegedly approached him and began hitting, kicking and biting him. The responding officer documented visible cuts and bite marks on the victim, the report states.
During another dispute sometime the following week, the husband said McGowan picked up a gun and initially pointed it at herself. When he begged her not to harm herself, he said, she turned the gun toward him and told him, “Say the right [expletive],” which he interpreted as a threat to shoot him unless he gave her a reason not to. He told police she eventually put the firearm down.
Police said the victim flagged down an officer while standing in the street Tuesday night. At about the same time, McGowan reportedly pulled into a nearby parking lot.
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After receiving her Miranda warning, McGowan reportedly acknowledged owning a firearm and said she and her husband regularly argue and yell at one another, though she denied that weapons were ever involved. She also told police that a gun was in the vehicle with her.
When questioned about why her husband appeared frightened and was attempting to leave, McGowan reportedly said “everyone” could go to the house and that he knew he could go there. She said the dispute began because she wanted him home on time to complete chores, but he returned late and the two began arguing. McGowan said they had exchanged “horrible things” in past arguments.
The officer described McGowan as evasive when discussing the incidents. When asked specifically about biting her husband or displaying a gun, she reportedly requested an attorney.
McGowan faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and domestic battery. She has no local criminal history. Judge Mitchell Bishop ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on the State Attorney’s Office request to keep her detained without bond until trial. If that motion is denied, bond will be set at the hearing.