In March 2020, while a child was present, a Cherokee County man pressed a pistol to his wife’s forehead and pulled the trigger.
The hammer clicked, but there was no gunshot — the weapon was not loaded, according to Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney Shannon Wallace. When the man left the room to find ammunition, his wife was able to escape and call 911.
Ronald Charles Lynch, 51, of Canton, pleaded guilty earlier this summer to a long list of charges related to the incident, Wallace said in a news release Thursday. After entering his plea, Lynch received a 40-year sentence that includes 20 in prison followed by 20 on probation.
“If there had been bullets in that gun, we would have been here for a murder trial,” Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the state, said.
The incident began late in the evening of March 11, 2020, when Lynch grabbed his wife, pushed her down and brandished the handgun, according to the DA’s office. With the barrel of the gun pressed into the skin of his wife’s forehead, he pulled the trigger, though no shot was fired.
In the course of the incident, Lynch’s wife was able to call 911 and give the phone to the child who was with her, Wallace said. The child stayed on the phone with emergency dispatch throughout the incident.
Though Lynch left the room and his wife was able to escape with the child, he continued to look for her at a neighbor’s house, according to the DA’s office. Through a surveillance camera, Lynch asked if his wife was inside. He can be seen on the video footage pacing on his neighbor’s porch and brandishing the handgun. Lynch was taken into custody by Canton police at the neighbor’s home without incident.
“(Lynch) was surprised when the gun didn’t fire so he went for bullets, and then he went looking for the victims,” Ashe said in the news release. “His actions are inexcusable. This could easily have been a homicide.”
According to the DA’s office, Lynch pleaded guilty to the following counts June 16: aggravated assault/family violence, first-degree cruelty to children, obstruction of an officer, battery/family violence, third-degree cruelty to children, and three counts of simple assault.
“On March 11, 2020, a woman and a child were subjected to a horrific situation in which one or both of them could have died. The child involved showed amazing courage in talking to 911 dispatchers so police were quickly alerted,” Wallace said in a statement. “Fortunately, the gun was not loaded and no one was physically injured. Through this sentence, the defendant will be held accountable for his actions, and these victims and our community will be protected from this defendant.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by domestic violence or strangulation, contact the Cherokee Family Violence Center online at CFVC.org or by calling the 24/7 crisis hotline at 770-479-1703. In case of an emergency, call 911.
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