[COBRA-CC]

By ANGELA BRANDT - Independent Record - 02/05/08
A 28-year-old Helena man faces three felony counts of assault on a minor for allegedly shooting his son with an air gun that shoots plastic BBs.

Police arrested Billy Joe Watts Friday afternoon after his 5-year-old son told a teacher at his school that his father had shot him three times with an air gun the previous night, according to documents filed in Justice Court Monday.

The three counts correspond to how many times Watts shot the child — once each on the forearm, chest and back.

When asked if the shots hurt him, the 5-year-old told officers “it made him sad and he cried,” according to court documents. Officers saw red marks, which appeared to be dried blood scabbing over the wounds.

“Then he said how his father shot himself in the head with the gun but he did not die. (The boy) was able to mimic how his father held the gun up to his head and pulled the trigger,” court documents said.

After speaking with school and state Department of Family Services officials, police went to Watts’ home on the 100 block of West Lyndale Avenue to question the suspect.

Watts, who, the documents note, greeted the officers only wearing underwear, said he was “messing around” with his son when he shot him with the air gun.

“Billy said his intent was to shoot (his son) with the airsoft gun, but not hurt him,” the documents said.

Watts told officers he had been drinking but did not feel he was impaired at the time of the incident.

Watts is being held in the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Kick his Ass in jail and throw away the key