Daytona Beach, FL - A man stands accused of not only trying to smother his wife, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, but Volusia County deputies say he also fired a rifle above her head.
Just before 8 a.m. yesterday (September 17th), a deputy with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office was called to a home off of Frank Place in Daytona Beach in reference to a well-being check.
According to the report, the reporting party contacted the Sheriff's Office after she got text messages from her daughter stating that her husband, 44-year-old Jason McGinn, was intoxicated and pushed her off the bed.
When the deputy arrived he met up with McGinn, who didn't know why law enforcement was there.
The deputy stated that he was responding to a well-being check and that he wanted to come inside and see McGinn's wife. McGinn refused and said that he would wake up his wife and have her come to the door instead.
While waiting for his wife to come down, the deputy began to make casual conversation with McGinn. According to the report, McGinn stated that his wife was handicapped and that it was hard to be her caregiver. He then seemed to jokingly state, "well, I ain't killed her yet."
McGinn's wife eventually made contact with the deputy. She said that her husband had been drinking for the past few days. Her narrative states that she came into their room while she was sleeping and pushed her off of the bed.
The report says that she fell and hit her right elbow on the nightstand and hurt her knees on the floor. The deputy noticed the redness on both of her legs as well as the scrape on her elbow.
The report also noted that she suffers from multiple sclerosis and has severe mobility issues which inhibited her from getting back on the bed.
The deputy asked McGinn what happened last night. According to the report, McGinn stated, "Man, I was drunk and got mad at her for being disabled and pushed her off our bed. All she does is lay in bed all day." That's when the deputy arrested McGinn.
During another conversation with the wife, the deputy learned that McGinn picked her up by her clothes and threw her back onto the bed. That's when they continued to argue before McGinn apologized for pushing her.
She also stated that the night before (September 16th), McGinn pointed a rifle near her, but not directly at her. She said it made her nervous and scared that he was accidentally going to shoot her. She tried to push the rifle away with her hand but could not due to her disability.
The wife then further advised law enforcement that sometimes McGinn would fire the rifle inside the house throughout the day, stating how much he loved the smell of gun powder. Then, later that night, she stated that McGinn covered her mouth and nose with his hands and said that he was going to smother her with a pillow.
She said that she did not want to call for help that night because she didn't want McGinn to know, in fear that he might retaliate against her. Instead, she texted her mother and told her what happened. That's when her mother notified the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
When the deputy checked out the house, he noticed 5.56mm shell casings and .22 caliber shell casings throughout the home. They also noticed that there appeared to be bullet holes in the wall of the bedroom, above the headboard on their bed and to the right of the bed.
The bullet holes seemed to be consistent with 5.56mm and .22 caliber bullets. Not long after finding the bullet holes, the deputy also found an assault rifle, loaded with 5.56mm rounds under the stairs, located at the front of the entrance.
They also found an upper receiver that was chambered in .22 caliber, meaning that they can be switched out so the rifle can fire a different round.
The rifle was seized, along with the shell casings and the ammunition, while McGinn was taken into custody. He was charged with abuse of a disabled person, domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated assault, improper exhibition of a firearm and possession of a firearm by an in-state felon.
Jail records show that McGinn has been booked and processed at Volusia County Jail six other times before this arrest.
He remains in custody on a $50,000 bond.
