Inset: Paula Kohensky (St. Charles County Corrections). Background: The St. Charles County Department of Corrections (St. Charles County).
A Missouri woman allegedly fired a handgun toward her neighbor amid an escalating dispute over a shared property line, authorities say.
Paula Kohensky, 60, faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. She was released from custody after posting $50,000 bond.
The incident occurred Sunday at Kohensky’s home in St. Charles County, west of St. Louis. According to a probable cause statement, her neighbor was working on his property and installing metal “T-posts” along a fence line.
The neighbor told investigators that one post had been placed incorrectly and no longer lined up with the rest of the fence. He said he used an “electric side grinder” to cut the post down to ground level.
Police said Kohensky told them she heard a loud metallic noise near the fence after leaving her house. She also claimed to see sparks coming from beneath a tarp, an encounter she said frightened her.
Kohensky reportedly shouted, “Get away from my fence,” after seeing what she believed was her neighbor’s shadow. She was holding a firearm and claimed it discharged accidentally, according to the charging document.
The neighbor offered a different account. While operating the grinder, he said he heard yelling, followed by a voice counting, “3, 2, 1,” and then a gunshot. He reportedly picked up the fence post and went inside his garage.
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Kohensky’s husband took the gun from her, police said. Kohensky also told investigators that she heard the neighbor call out, “Call the sheriff.”
Deputies arrived and interviewed the people involved. Investigators determined that Kohensky and the neighbor had been engaged in an ongoing dispute.
The probable cause statement says the neighbor had been kneeling near ground level while cutting the fence post, putting him in what investigators described as the apparent line of fire.
Surveillance video allegedly showed Kohensky aiming the firearm at a slightly downward angle. Investigators said that angle appeared consistent with a defect in the tarp and with the conclusion that the weapon had been fired toward the neighbor’s position.
Investigators also reportedly recovered a spent handgun casing beside the spot where the video showed Kohensky standing, according to the charging document.
Kohensky is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 2.
The post Missouri woman accused of shooting toward neighbor during fence dispute after countdown first appeared on Law & Crime.
