Woman draws gun on man in parking lot

MURFREESBORO — A Murfreesboro woman told police officers she pointed a gun at a man in the Walmart parking lot because he approached her aggressively, according to the police report provided to The Daily News Journal.

The woman Sherry McLain, 67, of Lascassas was arrested. Her bond was set at $15,000.

The incident took place around 4 p.m. Friday at the Wal-Mart on Old Fort when the suspect McLain told officers she was putting groceries away in her vehicle when she heard a black man “hollering behind her.”

McLain said the man came toward her aggressively, so she held up her hand and asked him to stop. According to the report, MLain said the man continued to come at her, so she told him she had a gun and she drew it and pointed it at him. She said the man then walked away from her, toward another woman who was with a child, “still hollering.”

The officer secured the handgun and interviewed the woman with the child as well as the man in question, James Crutchfield, 52, of Murfreesboro. The officer also reviewed security video.

Crutchfield told the officer he only approached to the woman to see if she had a cigarette lighter because he had just purchased a pack of cigarettes and did not have one. He said the woman immediately pulled the gun out, pointed it at him, and began screaming.

The officer spoke with the other woman, Diane Miller of Columbia, who told him that Crutchfield ran up to her, yelling that the woman had a gun. According to the report, Miller said she looked and saw McLain still pointing the gun in her direction.

Miller said Crutchfield told her to call the police, then ran back into the store.

The security video showed Crutchfield walking past McLain, then turning toward her. But he did not approach her more make any threatening gestures, the police report stated.

Once McClain pulled the gun, it said, Crutchfield can be seen walking backwards, away from her, with his hands in the air, until he sees Miller and her child. The police report states the video shows McClain lowering her gun until Crutchfield reaches Miller and yells at her, then she again points the gun in his direction, while he was standing next to the woman and child.

The officer stated that there was no evident threat to McLain and she had acted unlawfully by drawing a firearm on Crutchfield. She was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

Mary Reeves can be reached at mmreeves@nashvill.gannett.com and @MaryReevesDNJ.