PANAMA CITY BEACH — Police have arrested an Ohio man who allegedly put a gun to the head of his wife after a domestic dispute in Panama City Beach, according to Bay County court documents.
Kevin L. Christy, 26, was arrested Tuesday morning after Panama City Beach Police responded to reports of a domestic altercation involving a firearm. Residents within the Gardenia Street household heard the Chesapeake, Ohio, couple arguing at about 9:55 p.m. Monday before the sounds of fighting resonated throughout the home. Police have charged Christy with simple battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon from what eyewitnesses said they saw while trying to intervene, police reported.
One of the residents in the home in the 600 block of Gardenia Street heard what sounded like fighting between Christy and his wife from their adjacent front room. She opened the door, being accompanied by another resident, and the two could see Christy actively punching his wife in the face, causing her glasses to break, police reported.
The two then attempted to separate the quarreling couple but were stopped when Christy grabbed a single-action, .22 caliber Armi Filli revolver from his room.
Christy “then re-engaged in the altercation with the victim, producing the firearm and raising it with an extended arm, pointed at the head of the victim, inches away from her head,” police reported.
As he leveled it on his wife’s head, the two bystanders stepped away from trying to separate the fighting, they told police.
A third eyewitness told police Christy then retreated to his room to hide the pistol.
When police arrived, the couple was separated and the gun was found in a black pouch on Christy’s bedside table. Christy was arrested on charges of battery and aggravated assault with a firearm.