NORTHUMBERLAND - A borough man is behind bars at Northumberland County Prison while his girlfriend remains in serious condition at Geisinger Medical Center after a Fourth of July incident in which he claims he accidentally shot her with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Thomas D. Lowder, 31, of 349 12th St., was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge John Gembic, Shamokin, late Monday night, and placed in the county prison on $75,000 bail. He is facing charges of aggravated assault, propulsion of missiles into an occupied vehicle or onto a roadway and recklessly endangering his girlfriend, Faith Davis.
According to court documents, Point Township Patrolman Wade Lytle, Cpl. Curtis Cooke of the state police at Stonington and Northumberland and Sunbury police departments were dispatched to a trailer on 12th Street for a reported gunshot victim at 5:40 p.m. Monday.
Lowder, who was seen with blood on his white tank top, exited the residence upon request and told police his girlfriend, Davis, was lying in the bedroom. Lytle said he could hear the woman inside, yelling in pain. Northumberland Police Chief Timothy Fink stayed with Lowder as Lytle entered the trailer. He noticed that Davis' shirt was off and her jean shorts were cut open on her injured leg. Her wounds were to her left side from her upper back to her knee.
While Davis was being treated by EMS on scene, she told Lytle that Lowder was playing with the gun when it went off. Lytle asked if they had been fighting and she said she didn't know what Lowder was doing.
Lowder's mother, Anna May Hempton, who requires a walker, was lying on a bed in the same room, where two guns were sitting next to her, said police.
Hempton, reported Lytle, said Lowder and Davis came into the room when she was laying there. He laid the shotgun and a .22 rifle on the bed and told Hempton that the shotgun was "loaded and ready to go" and to not touch the hammer because it would fire.
When Davis walked out of the room, Hempton said Lowder pulled the hammer back and pulled the trigger, shooting Davis and destroying Hempton's walker.
She said the couple had not been fighting and it was an accident. She also indicated that a beer can next to the bed must have belonged to Lowder.
Hempton then said Lowder retrieved a pair of scissors from the dresser and cut Davis' shorts and shirt to examine her injuries. He then called 911 for help.
Lowder told Fink that he was showing his mother how to work the gun when it went off.
Davis was transported from the scene by AREA Services to the Geisinger Medical Center. She was listed in serious condition by a nursing supervisor at 10 p.m.
Lowder told police the gun had been given to him by Mike Sebasovich, to whom the gun is registered. He also handed the police a .22 caliber round removed from the other gun and it was secured as evidence.
Point Township Police Chief Joshua Vankirk took Lowder into custody and the scene was investigated. Clothing and the guns were taken as evidence. Lowder submitted to a chemical blood test at the Sunbury Community Hospital.
Fines, jail time
The felony charge of aggravated assault has a maximum sentence of a $25,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison. The felony charge of propulsion of missiles into an occupied has a maximum sentence of a $16,000 fine and up to seven years in prison. The misdemeanor charge of recklessly endangering another person has a maximum sentence of a $5,000 fine and up to two years.
Lowder will appear before District Judge Robert J. Bolton, Milton, for a hearing at 10 a.m. July 13.