An eyewitness reportedly told police that Jennifer Villa fired a gun toward one of two men fistfighting in the middle of E. Blaine St. in McAdoo last week and then ran after him and fired again.
When that man’s step-daughter came outside to see what was happening, Villa reportedly turned the gun towards her and fired a third shot, police say, recounting witness statements.
Villa is facing two counts of attempted homicide and other related charges and is being held at Schuylkill County Prison following the incident on June 10 in McAdoo.
According to court documents, police were dispatched to E. Blaine St. in McAdoo shortly before 9 p.m. for a report of a woman firing a gun during a fight.
Witnesses to this incident tell police that a fistfight broke out on E. Blaine St. between Carlos Bovelatorre and Javier Villa. During the fight, Jennifer Villa reportedly yelled out in Spanish, “Just wait here, I got something for you!”
Jennifer Villa then goes into her house and gets a gun and comes back outside. She reportedly fires in the direction of Bovelatorre.
Bovelatorre then starts to run away but Villa gives chase and fires a second round in his direction. Both shots missed.
During this melee, Bovelatorre’s step-daughter, Yareliz Ibarra, comes out of her home. Bovelatorre yells at her to go back inside. As that happens, Villa runs toward her and then fires a third shot, hitting the front door as Ibarra was closing it.
After closing the door, Ibarra reportedly told police that she could hear the doorknob moving and Villa yelling at her from outside.
Villa was taken into custody and interviewed at the State Police-Frackville barracks. She reportedly told police that she always carries her pistol and that she fired two shots in the air as a warning, going against what witnesses had previously told police. She denied firing a third shot at the door as Ibarra was closing it.
Police say they looked at the front door and saw a hole that indicated it was shot and round was discovered lodged inside it. A spent shell casing was also recovered from in front of that home on E. Blaine St.
Villa is being held at Schuylkill County Prison on $500,000 cash bail. She’s facing two counts of attempted homicide along with two counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment. She’s also looking at a discharing a firearm into an occupied structure charge and a terroristic threats offense.
A preliminary hearing is currently scheduled before District Magistrate Judge Edward Tarantelli on Wednesday afternoon.
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