San Antonio tries to halt mix of guns, domestic violence

SAN ANTONIO - In the days before Cynthia Jean Goodrum's slaying on Dec. 27, her husband purchased several firearms, an ominous sign in a relationship that had long been tumultuous.

The devoted mother and nurse had filed to divorce Narada Goodrum. The looming threat from her husband was laid out in her court petition: Narada began to amass an arsenal after Cynthia, 34, asked for a divorce.

Bexar County deputies investigated a disturbance between the Goodrums a week earlier. No one was arrested, but deputies did remove a handgun that was in plain view.

"She was very scared, and she wanted to know what to do," said Mark Thompson, Cynthia Goodrum's lawyer.

This deadly mix of guns and domestic violence is all too common, and was part of at least 10 of the city's 88 homicides last year. Courts have long recognized the peril, and assailants who are convicted of domestic assault are prohibited by federal law from possessing or purchasing a firearm.

Recent strategy

Now San Antonio courts are confiscating guns fin domestic violence incidents - a strategy adopted last year to confront the problem.

Cynthia Goodrum, pregnant at the time, had sought a restraining order against her husband. But before the papers could be served, the 33-year-old dragged her by the hair into the kitchen of their house in Bexar County and shot her to death.

Last week, on the run in Las Vegas, Goodrum took his own life.

National and local experts say that if an abuser has access to a firearm or weapon, the chance of them killing someone increases dramatically. So far, Bexar County Magistrate Judge Michael Ugarte said he's signed about 10 of those orders.

Case-by-case basis

"We use it on a case-by-case basis," Ugarte said. "Sometimes, family violence situations get out of hand and people get injured. If you remove the instrument that can escalate it, it may not get worse than it already is."

Cynthia Goodrum's lawyer said removing firearms from a potentially violent person makes sense, though clearly not a in every case. Narada Goodrum had yet to be arrested, so the courts wouldn't have stepped in under the new policy.

"If someone's ready to kill his pregnant wife, then he's going to do it no matter what," said Thompson. "Maybe not having weapons would slow him down, but I've even seen a case of a man killing a woman by setting her on fire."

PEACE Initiative executive director and cofounder Patricia Castillo said the affects of the firearms surrender order have yet to be determined.

"The fact that we're even pursuing it, to me, is groundbreaking," said Castillo, whose local nonprofit is dedicated to fighting domestic violence. "Domestic violence and weapons is a deadly combination."