BRATTLEBORO -- The victim of a gunshot wound to the leg was charged with assault Monday and is being held at Southern State Correctional Facility for lack of a $2,500 bond.
Jesse Wismann, 20, of West Wardsboro, was charged in Windham District Coury with first degree aggravated domestic assault with a weapon. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison and receive a fine of up to $25,000.
Vermont State Police responded to Upper Podunk Road in West Wardsboro Sunday evening after receiving a 911 call from John H. Wismann, Sr., in which he told the dispatcher he had shot his son, Jesse.
According to a police affidavit, Jesse threatened his father with a machete prior to the shooting. His wound was not life-threatening, according to the affidavit.
The shooting occurred after the father and son argued about Jesse Wismann's "out of control yelling," according to the affidavit, in which he was "ranting and raving."
The pair got into a wrestling match in which both of them ended up in a headlock, unable to move, John Wismann told police during an interview at the Dover Police Department. The fight was broken up by John Wismann Jr., after which John Wismann Sr. told Jesse to leave the house.
He was followed outside by his mother, Stacey Robins, who told police she wanted to give her son money for gasoline. Jesse allegedly told his mother he was going to go back into the house
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and shoot his father with a 12-gauge shotgun. Robins told police she had to physically restrain her son from re-entering the home to get the shotgun.
Instead, Jesse retrieved a machete from his car, said Robins in an interview at the Dover Police Department. Again Robins attempted to physically restrain her son when John Sr. and Jr. came outside and urged Jesse to put the machete down.
When he refused to do so, John Sr. then went back into the house and returned with a 9mm pistol, eventually firing two warning shots, one into the air and the other into the ground, before firing a shot into his son's leg, who collapsed to the ground still holding the machete, according to the affidavit.
During his own interview with police, Jesse Wismann did not deny fighting with his father, attempting to retrieve a shotgun or getting the machete out of his car.
"Jesse stated ... that he did not have intentions to kill his father, but wanted to have the machete in case there was another confrontation," according to court documents, but he did admit he wanted his father to think that he was going to kill him.
While John Wismann said he shot his son only after the 20-year-old took a step toward him, Jesse Wismann denied the allegation, telling police he only stepped toward his father after the shot was fired.
Jesse Wismann also told police after he was shot he told his father "If you're going to shoot me, make it count," according to the affidavit.
Based on statements made by the witnesses and Jesse Wismann himself, police determined Jesse Wismann had acted in a threatening manner, causing John Sr. to fear for the safety of himself and his family.
John Sr. told police he shot his son because he was concerned he might hurt someone with the machete.
Jesse Wismann was taken to the hospital by John Jr. According to the affidavit, "John Sr. was upset for having shot Jesse."
Attempts to contact John Wismann or Stacey Robins were unsuccessful.
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