Dickey Betts’ Wife Jailed After Threatening to Shoot a Group of Students
Dickey Betts' wife has been charged with aiming a rifle at a group of students who were rowing near her backyard on Bay Preserve in Osprey, Fla.
Donna Betts, 61, now faces 18 counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, "causing a well-founded fear coupled with the ability to produce great bodily harm and/or death," according to Sarasota County authorities. A county judge today ordered a $180,000 bond for Betts, calling the whole thing a "bizarre situation," the Herald-Tribune reports.
The Sarasota Crew were taking part in their daily practice on Monday when Betts appeared on her dock nearby, armed with a 30-30 Winchester rifle. She reportedly warned them to stay away from her property before threatening to shoot. Police say the entire thing was captured on a cell phone. "The video depicts the fear in the students' voices as they ask why she was pointing the rifle at them," a local deputy told WWSB.
Strangely, Betts is said to have thrown the rifle into the water at the end of the cell-phone video. She then called 911, saying that "the crew from Sarasota High School have destroyed her life and she has had it," according to WWSB.
Attorney Drew Solnoki, who represented Betts, argued that "she is no danger to the community. She has no intent to do harm and the gun was not loaded." The judge apparently didn't buy it. Donna Betts remained in custody at the Sarasota County Jail as of late Wednesday afternoon, according to the Herald-Tribune.
Dickey Betts was a co-founding guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band from 1969 through 2000.
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