An Ocala woman was arrested after allegedly firing two gunshots at a residence where her husband was spending time with another woman.
Ashley Michelle Franklin, 35, of 1941 NW 4th Street, was charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling (domestic violence) after the incident, which happened around 5 p.m. Dec. 11 in the 1700 block of SW 1st Street.
An Ocala Police sergeant who was parked in her patrol car in the 2000 block of State Road 40 heard the shots and responded to the scene. A witness ran from a neighboring yard and said Franklin was responsible for the shooting and that she saw Franklin driving a silver truck westbound on SW 1st Street. The truck then turned north onto SW 20th Avenue. A be-on-the-lookout order (BOLO) was issued for the vehicle, according to the OPD report.
Franklin’s husband told the sergeant he was inside the residence, visiting a female friend, when he heard two gunshots. He said he came outside and saw Franklin’s silver truck leaving the scene. Franklin’s husband and the sergeant looked for damage from the shots and observed a gun shot in a blue Ford truck parked in the driveway. Franklin’s husband said the truck belonged to his cousin and he has been using it. He said he believes his wife shot at the residence because she was angry and believed he was cheating with the other woman, the report said.
Two officers made contact with Franklin, who was walking in the 1800 block of NW 4th Street. Franklin said she was shot at by her husband and she shot back. She said the gun was in her residence and gave consent for an officer to recover it and the shell casings from her truck. A Taurus .40 caliber handgun was recovered from the residence and two .40 caliber shell casings were recovered from the truck, according to the report.
Franklin told officers she was driving in the vicinity of the 2000 block of State Road 40 with her music playing loudly when she heard two or three gunshots fired towards her vehicle. She said she suspected her husband and the other woman were firing at her, the report said.
Franklin said she started driving through the neighborhood and saw her husband and the woman pull into the residence. She said the two got out of the truck and ran into the house. She said she fired her gun at them because she was afraid and was trying to protect herself, according to the report.
The officer told Franklin her story was not consistent with what other witnesses reported. The officer told her that the sergeant who was in the area only heard two shots, and that a neighbor said the truck that Franklin’s husband drives had been at the residence for a while and did not arrive immediately before the shots were fired, the report said.
Franklin continued to maintain that she was shot at first and only returned fire to protect herself. Officers inspected her vehicle and did not find any gunshot damage. Franklin said the other woman had been telling lies to her husband, claiming Franklin was cheating on him, and that afterwards the two of them became involved in an affair, according to the report.
Franklin was placed under arrest and taken to the Marion County Jail. She was released the next day on $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Jan. 14.