An Alabama woman faces two counts of attempted murder amid allegations that she shot her estranged husband and pistol-whipped a woman at his home Saturday, police said.
Lee Ann Matanane, 54, is also charged with first-degree burglary and second-degree assault, the Cullman Times reported.
Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry said in a news release that Matanane is accused of parking her car down the street from her husband's Berlin home and, while dressed in all black, going to the house and forcing her way inside, the Times reported. When she got inside, she is accused of shooting her husband, Benito Matanane, in the chest and striking the woman in the head with the gun.
The victims fought Matanane off and disarmed her, the newspaper reported. Responding deputies took her into custody.
Both victims survived the alleged attack and were in stable condition.
Gentry commended the work of his deputies and investigators.
"Domestic incidents are among the most dangerous calls our deputies face," Gentry said.
The Times reported that Saturday's shooting was the first criminal charge for Matanane, though court records show an acrimonious journey through the couple's pending divorce. The records show that Matanane filed for divorce from Benito Matanane in April 2017, citing "a complete incompatibility of temperament."
That October, a judge issued restraining orders against both parties. AL.com reported that Benito Matanane was arrested that month on domestic violence harassment charges.
The husband was arrested on similar charges in 2014, though those charges were later dropped, AL.com reported. The October charges, as well as a more recent reckless endangerment charge, are still pending.
In the reckless endangerment case, Benito Matanane was accused of pulling up next to his estranged wife’s car and repeatedly forcing his own vehicle into her lane, running her from the roadway, the court records said.
The records showed that the couple reached a settlement agreement in their divorce earlier this month, AL.com said.
Lee Ann Matanane was booked into the Cullman County Jail, with bail set at $75,000
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