Crime and Courts

Woman accused of pulling gun at Bozeman mediation hearing awaits verdict

Posted: Feb 28, 2013 11:16 AM by MTN News
Updated: Feb 28, 2013 11:25 AM

The jury heard closing arguments today in the case of a Kentucky woman accused of threatening people with a gun at a Bozeman mediation hearing in April 2012.

The defense reiterated that Mary McCulley, 54, forgot that the gun was in her pocket. They said that McCulley mistakenly brought the gun to the mediation and had previously been using it to fight off a pack rat that was tearing up her home.

The defense also argued that she had been in court for nearly 2 months and she could have pulled the gun at any point if she really wanted to.

The prosecution told jurors that McCulley had every intention of brining the weapon into the mediation. Prosecution read a Facebook post they tied to the incident in part of which McCulley wrote, "If I have to become a criminal to fight the criminals, then I guess that's how the cookie crumbles."

McCulley is accused of threatening people with a gun at a mediation hearing in April 2012. She is charged with assault with a weapon in the case.

On April 25, two men sitting in the conference room of American Land and Title Company for a mediation in a civil case, say McCulley walked into the room, slammed two documents on the table and told them that was her final offer and they were going to sign it. One of the men said that McCulley's finger was on the trigger and he believes she would have shot him that day.

The men grabbed McCulley and wrestled the gun away from her, they said. They say they had to physically pull the gun out of her hand. During the struggle, they say McCulley kept repeating that the gun was not loaded, but when they examined it, they learned that it was.

"I think she would've pulled that trigger," one of the men said. "She never loosened her grip on that gun."

During the struggle, one of the men says McCulley bit him on his forearm and knuckle.

The jury us expected to reach a decision before the end of the day.