One injured, couple arrested in shooting
By Elizabeth Billips lizbillips@yahoo.com

A Burke County couple was arrested for unloading shotguns on two men scavenging metal.

Friday afternoon, Burke County deputies received a call from 37-year-old Aubrey Morris who said two men were cutting metal from an abandoned skid loader behind his property.

When officers arrived, they found 33-year-old Marvin Gaines with a gunshot wound.

He told officers he heard numerous shots and tried to run, but was hit in the back of the leg.

According to Sgt. Dedric Smith, an investigator for the Burke County Sheriff's Office, Morris and his wife Tara, 36, fired approximately 20 rounds of birdshot at the men.

"It was excessive," Sgt. Smith said. "The law says you have a right to protect your property, but only if a life is threatened,"

The shots also damaged the victim's vehicle.

Sgt. Smith says the Morrises thought the skid loader was on their property, while the men believed it to be on the neighboring property belonging to one of their uncles.

Investigators are in the process of retrieving tax records to determine the actual property lines.

Both Morrises are charged with two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.