Insets: Beau Lieurance (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office/KSAZ/YouTube). Background: The Arizona home where Beau Lieurance allegedly pulled a gun on his mom and another person (KSAZ/YouTube).
An Arizona man has admitted he aimed an assault rifle at his mother during a dispute tied to his claimed “entitlement” to “part of the house” where they lived. Authorities said he pointed the weapon at her and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.
Beau Lieurance, 28, entered a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He had been accused of pointing the rifle not only at his mother, but also at an “elderly” man who was staying in the home. Prosecutors suggested his behavior may have been influenced by mental health concerns and his intense involvement with the video game “Total War,” which they said he played as much as 60 hours a week.
“I finally became fed up,” Lieurance reportedly said while appearing in court earlier this year.
“It was my part of the house which I haven’t gained entitlement to over the last seven years,” Lieurance said, according to local Fox affiliate KSAZ.
Lieurance was initially arrested on multiple allegations, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a weapon during the commission of a felony, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. Court records show he accepted the plea deal on July 30.
Authorities have not made clear whether Lieurance knew the firearm would fail to discharge. Prosecutors have pointed to possible mental health issues, along with what they described as an obsession with video games, as factors that may have contributed to the incident.
“There are allegations that he currently plays a video game titled Total War,” a Maricopa County prosecutor said during a February hearing. “He plays that approximately 50 to 60 hours per week. There are concerns with the people that he plays with … that are based, possibly in North Africa, that have ties to Islamic extremists.”
In court, Lieurance rejected the allegations against him, calling them “completely false” and insisting that he was the one who had been victimized.
“It was very obvious to any neighbor you could ask of that it was an intimidation for three to four days,” Lieurance said. “I believe that certain liquids was laced in some of my drinks.”
The prosecutor who spoke to the court said Lieurance admitted to officers that he has “secret apps on his phone that he uses to communicate with individuals that he is playing Total War with.”
Total War is a strategy video game series with multiple titles and genres featuring an “exhilarating mix of turn-based empire building and colossal real-time battles.”
Lieurance is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 27.
The post Son who plays video games 60 hours a week became ‘fed up’ with mom during fight about ‘entitlement’ to house, admits to pointing assault rifle at her and pulling the trigger first appeared on Law & Crime.
