Wilson
A Franklin man could face up to 24.5 years in prison relating to a 2020 incident when he held a woman against her will using a gun.
Christopher Aaron Wilson, 23, was found guilty of criminal confinement using a deadly weapon, a Level 3 felony, intimidation with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and pointing a firearm at a person, a Level 6 felony, during a bench trial in Johnson County Superior Court 3 on Feb. 24. Judge Douglas Cummins found Wilson guilty of all three charges filed against him following the July 28, 2020 incident in Nineveh.
A pre-sentence investigation was ordered to help the judge decide how many years to impose and whether sentences on different counts will run at the same time or back-to-back, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office. If the sentences run back-to-back with maximum sentences imposed, he could face up to 24.5 years in prison.
Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies were called on July 28 to the 1000 block of East 775 South on a report of confinement with a firearm. Two witnesses told deputies Wilson and a woman arrived at the house arguing, first in the bathroom, then in a bedroom. During the altercation, both witnesses heard Wilson threaten to kill the woman then himself, they told deputies.
The victim told deputies Wilson forced her into the bedroom where he locked the door, retrieved a gun from a safe and pointed it at her, at times touching her head and chest with the barrel, and threatened to kill her, according to court documents.
During the altercation, the victim grabbed a metal bar and swung it at Wilson, but missed. Wilson dropped the gun at that time, but they continued to scream at one another, the victim said.
She told deputies she felt afraid, panicked and threatened, documents show.
Deputies found a gun matching the description offered by Wilson and the victim, but it was not loaded. It did have the victim’s hair caught in the slide.
In court last week, prosecutors offered evidence that an argument escalated out of control and that eventually, Wilson held the victim at gunpoint. In a statement, Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office Victims’ Advocate Ashley Teter praised the victim for being brave and standing up to her abuser.
The case was prosecuted by deputy prosecutor Bryan Smith, a former felony prosecutor for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said he was very proud of the “outstanding work” Smith did prosecuting this case.
“He worked hard to make sure he presented a solid case and he was kind and compassionate working with our victim,” Hamner said in a statement.
Wilson’s sentencing is set for April 14.
