NEOLA, Duchesne County -- A woman who believed that intruders were trying to kill her family called 911 Friday to report she was firing back at people who were shooting at their home.
When deputies arrived, they found her and her husband suffering from a methamphetamine-induced paranoia, deputy Derek Nelson said.The husband, 39, was armed with a high-powered rifle and was shooting "intruders" he said were trying to kill his family. The couple's two small children were found huddled in a closet.
"They were seeing people in their home," Nelson said. "These people were so real, they were convinced they were being invaded, and they were putting everyone else at risk by thinking they were protecting their house."
Police say 12 rounds had been fired from the rifle. Three rounds were fired into a vacant home across the road; four were fired inside the house, blowing up the family's TV set.
Nelson said the woman, 24, would shine a flashlight to help her husband see where to shoot the imaginary trespassers.
When deputy Dave Boren arrived at the home, the man was in the process of aiming the gun at an imaginary person and getting ready to fire. Boren and Nelson were able to wrestle the rifle away from him so that no one was injured.
It took several hours before deputies were able to convince the man the perceived attack on his family had been a delusion, Nelson said.
"It (meth) is the underlying factor in all the big crimes we're seeing now," Nelson said. "Sometimes people think about drug use as a victimless crime. This new-age meth is claiming a lot of victims."
The husband was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, third-degree felonies; discharging a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia, class B misdemeanors; and disorderly conduct and intoxication, class C misdemeanors.
The wife was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a third-degree felony; possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
The couple was arraigned Monday in 8th District Court in Duchesne. Their children were turned over to the custody of social services.