Family argument leads to gun pointing, spitting

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 21, 2012

By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
A 21-year-old man with a history of run-ins with the law was arrested after deputies said he pointed a gun at his brother and spat in his mother’s face Sunday morning.
Sgt. J.S. Duffell was called to 660 Sides Road after Rowan County communications received two 911 hang-up calls.
After speaking with family members at the house, Duffell said Aaron Yarborough, who lives at the home, got into an argument with his brother, Jonathan, and drew a black 12-gauge shotgun on him.
Aaron Yarborough’s mother, Brenda, told officers that both of her sons spat in her face during the incident. According to the report, she only wished to press charges against Aaron Yarborough.
He was charged with misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun, communicating threats and assault on a female.
Deputies said they were dispatched to the home about 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Telecommunicators received two calls from the home. On one call they said they could hear a man yelling, “You better not be calling the cops.”
Aaron Yarborough sat in a vehicle in the driveway with the door locked, deputies reported, while they spoke to relatives.
An arrest report said Aaron Yarborough refused to open the door and appeared upset, “making facial expressions expressing his anger.”
After his mother got the vehicle’s keys, the door was unlocked and Aaron Yarborough was taken into custody.
This wasn’t his first brush with authorities.
According to court records, the 21-year-old has 22 pending charges against him.
Aaron Yarborough was arrested last year after authorities said he resisted arrest and violated probation twice.
In June, he received six charges of felony breaking and entering into vehicles and another five charges of felony larceny.
Deputies said they caught Aaron Yarborough and friend Heath O’Brian after Yarborough lost his index and middle fingers during a botched game of Russian Roulette.
Deputies and EMS personnel were called to the 660 Sides Road address on June 3 in reference to a self-inflicted gunshot.
Aaron Yarborough later told authorities that he and a man he could only identify as “Heath” had “two empty chambers” in a .38 caliber handgun.
“Heath would spin the cylinder, put the gun to his own head and pull the trigger,” the report said.
Between rounds the gun fired, and a bullet hit Yarborough between the thumb and index finger, deputies wrote.
O’Brian and Aaron Yarborough were both charged after the .38 caliber pistol was found to be stolen, authorities said.
Deputies noted in the report that they did find a black shotgun in the home during the June 3 incident.
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.