Warrants: Woman had access to weapons, threatened to shoot boyfriend with police present

The Oak Ridge woman who allegedly barricaded herself in a home in March and threw a pistol out a window while negotiating with police officers has been charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening to shoot her boyfriend while police were present and while she had access to multiple deadly weapons, authorities said.

Sara J. Flynt, 27, was charged with four counts of aggravated assault and arrested April 1. She remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Friday evening, and her bond has been set at $105,000.

Police had responded to a report that Flynt was creating a disturbance at her home at 426 East Tennessee Avenue at about 2:04 a.m. Saturday, March 19. When officers tried to contact her, they found that she was barricaded in a bedroom, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Kyle Scott said in arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

“Flynt refused to exit the bedroom, and the affiant (Scott) heard the distinct metallic sound of rounds being chambered in a firearm,” the warrants said.

Flynt’s boyfriend had told police he owned a handgun and 12-15 long guns that were inside the bedroom, Scott said. Officers later determined there had been one handgun—a .45 caliber—and 17 various long guns—rifles, shotguns, and airsoft—according to the warrants.

 

Scott, Sergeant Jock Coleman, and Probationary Police Officer Perry Lewis were standing outside, beside the boyfriend, when Flynt began asking where her boyfriend was, saying, “I’m going to shoot him,” the warrants said. She opened the bedroom window directly above the heads of her boyfriend and the three officers, Scott said.

“By doing so, the defendant intentionally and knowingly placed the victim and three officers in reasonable fear of imminent bodily injury while having direct access to multiple deadly weapons,” Scott said.

Police said Flynt was taken into custody at about 8:29 a.m. that Saturday and taken to a hospital. Authorities said she had made numerous statements referencing suicide and was heard manipulating weapons while negotiating with police. After the standoff was peacefully resolved, police said they found an arsenal inside the home, including more than a dozen high-powered rifles, shotguns, an assault rifle, a pistol, and several boxes of ammunition.

They reported then that Flynt’s boyfriend had said she was very intoxicated, had locked herself in the bedroom, and was in possession of multiple weapons.

Police negotiated with her using ORPD Crisis Intervention Team members. About an hour after they started, Flynt threw a .45 pistol out the bedroom window and refused to communicate further with officers, authorities said that day. Tactical officers responded to the scene, and at approximately 8:29 a.m. they took Flynt into custody and transported her to Methodist Medical Center for evaluation.

Flynt has an arraignment scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.