A 53-year-old Fort McCoy man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly battering an elderly neighbor who had asked him to stop shooting his firearms at night.
On Sunday, December 17, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a local residence in reference to a battery incident. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the elderly victim who stated that at around 7:15 p.m., his neighbor, Gary Matthew Stamper, was “shooting firearms in the woods” across form the victim’s property, according to the arrest report.
The victim advised that he went to the front of his property and asked Stamper to “stop shooting firearms at night because it was not safe.” According to the victim’s statement in the report, Stamper became “irate” and started striking the victim on his head and ribs.
The victim stated that Stamper’s son intervened and briefly managed to pull Stamper off the victim. Moments later, Stamper was able to free himself from his son’s grasp, and he allegedly continued to batter the victim.
The deputy noted in the report that the victim had video footage of the incident, which showed the victim walking to the front of his residence. Stamper then walked up to the victim’s property line and struck the victim, knocking the victim to the ground.
Stamper then continued to strike the victim while he was on the ground. On the footage, another person approached Stamper and pulled him off the victim, though Stamper quickly “got away” and continued striking the victim, according to the report.
The deputy noted that the victim had a slight red mark on his stomach.
Stamper was no longer at the incident location, and the deputy made contact with him over the phone. Stamper told the deputy, “I don’t know what the issue is. The old man came at me with a cane and I punched him,” according to the report.
Approximately 45 minutes later, the deputy located Stamper at his residence. The report stated that Stamper was “standing in the front yard while drinking a beer.”
Stamper was arrested, transported to Marion County Jail, and he was released the following day after posting a $2,000 bond. He is being charged with battery on a person 65 years of age or older, which is a felony.
A court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, according to jail records.