A March 23 jury trial has been set for a 50-year-old Bellevue woman accused of threatening her son with a gun.
Lynda Kay Barbee was arraigned Monday in Blaine County 5th District Court on a felony charge of aggravated assault. She is also charged with three misdemeanors: exhibition or use of a deadly weapon and two counts of discharging a firearm within city limits.
Judge Robert K. Elgee advised Barbee that the felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, while exhibition or use of a deadly weapon is punishable by up to six months in the county jail. The illegal-discharge-of-firearm offense is punishable under Bellevue city code by up to 30 days in jail for each count.
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Barbee pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
The charges against Barbee stem from an incident on Sept. 16 when about a dozen local police units responded to a report of a shooting early that morning at a home on Tendoy Street in northeast Bellevue. Police surrounded the home for about two and a half hours before entering it and taking Barbee into custody about 8 a.m.
Former Bellevue Marshal Ron Taylor alleged in a probable cause affidavit that Barbee fired two shots in the home and allegedly threatened her son with a loaded revolver. Court records don't specify the son's age, but the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney's Office reported that he is in his 20s.
The trial is expected to last three days. Barbee is represented by public defender Christopher Simms. She is currently free on $15,000 bond.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
