September 29, 2008
Man accused of strangling wife, holding kids at gunpoint
RIVERVIEW -- An argument in the kitchen escalated into a domestic nightmare for one woman and four children, according to Hillsborough County deputies.
Jeremy Andre Richie Barton, 32, left, was arguing with his wife over "family issues" Sunday night, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter, when he placed his wife in a headlock, pushed her to the floor and punched her repeatedly in the ribs.
Barton, who is 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, according to his booking record, then picked his 32-year-old wife up and choked her, Carter said.
Somehow Barton's wife got free from him and locked him in the garage area, out of the house. Barton retrieved a loaded handgun and fired a single shot at the doorknob lock, Carter said, regaining entry.
Once inside, he lined up his wife and the four children who were in the home at the time against the wall, pointing the gun at them before he fled. The children were ages 2, 4, 8 and 9.
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I am close to this situation and I want to say that the story the news has told is very sensationalized. There are very key points of what you are sharing here that are absolutely not true. It is unfortunate that the Tampa news sources had to take a very serious situation and make it sound even worse. It was bad enough without adding to it.
ReplyDeleteDid any of you ever stop to think that perhaps this man's children went to school and another parent was discussing these comments? What about the paper, before you sensationalized this story did you stop to think that the neighbors now refuse to let their children play with SGT Barton's children? Sad but true. Not a single child on their street is allowed to play with the innocent victims in this. They are treated as if they have the plague.
ReplyDeleteWhat he did was wrong, it was very very wrong. But here's the truth. At his last installation all that mattered was he was ready to deploy, his clear signs of PTSD were absolutely ignored. He was sent to MacDill and before they had a chance to get to know him this happened. He has spent 2.5 years of the past 5 in Iraq. He has no record and had never abused his family.
Now his family has not only lost their father and husband but they are losing their way of life in the military. The only way of life they have known. This decorated war veteran could sit in prison for 35 years. This was preventable but no one helped him because he was a good leader and the Army needed his warm body leading soldiers in Iraq. His family supports the war but believes more has to be done to prevent such tragedies. The state attorney's office has made it abundantly clear they do not care that he has no record or that he is a veteran suffering with PTSD, they only want to see him rot in prison.
This is a good man and a close family that is being torn apart. His wife is being threatened by CPS even though she allows no contact between him or the children. She lives in constant fear of her children being removed even though she is keeping them safe. CPS has demanded she file for divorce to prove her conviction to protect her children despite the fact this means losing her military insurance and her base home. If you think it is SGT Barton alone who is being given a prison sentence then you are very very wrong.
He is finally getting the help he needs and it took him waiving a gun at his family to get it. Perhaps some compassion for everyone involved could be considered?
Anonymous, this is why these stories are posted on this blog. There are always two sides of every story the media does not cover.
ReplyDeleteIt is also so that when they do suffer from PTSD (trauma wounds) their stories get told.
I have a complete understanding of PTSD since I've been doing this for 26 years as well as living with it everyday with my own husband. While there are some blogs still trying to blame the veteran, if you read this one, it's about trauma and what comes after. I focus on the veterans and the troops, as well as police officers, firefighters, first responders and victims.