January 16 – EAU CLAIRE – A former Eau Claire man was sentenced to two days in jail for pointing a gun at his girlfriend and threatening to shoot her.
Damon M. Cart, 24, now of Clyde, Ohio, recently pleaded no contest in Eau Claire County Court for a misdemeanor of pointing a firearm at another person.
A felony count of second degree reckless endangerment of safety and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct were dismissed but considered by Judge John Manydeeds at sentencing.
Manydeeds also fined Cart $1,086.
According to the criminal indictment:
Cart’s girlfriend contacted the police at 4:52 am on Sunday, August 14, 2021 to report domestic violence and request a welfare check on her boyfriend.
She told police that Cart came back from a shift at work, seemed a “little out of control” and may have been drunk.
The two had a verbal argument about their relationship, and then Cart went to retrieve the girlfriend’s gun.
Cart made vague suicide statements while armed and eventually fell asleep on top of the firearm.
While Cart slept, the woman took her two children and left the residence, afraid to return until he left.
The woman also told police that Cart had threatened to kill her the previous day, pointed the gun at her and said he would kill himself if she ever left him.
After fleeing her home early on August 14, 2021 and calling the police, the friend also received Facebook messages from Cart threatening suicide.
Concerned for the safety of Cart and the community, the local police SWAT team was called in to surround the residence and negotiate its surrender.
At approximately 4:42 PM on August 14, 2021, Cart left the house and was taken into custody without further incident.
