Daniel Prince
Woman shot at hotel room following fight with a man
A woman faces attempted murder charges stemming from a fight and shooting incident last Tuesday. 31-year-old Victoria Brannon Martin, from Union but now living in Wellford, is charged in the incident.
Deputies were dispatched to Knight’s Inn at 481 Fairwood Boulevard regarding an argument between a male and female. The manager called law enforcement and told them the woman had left and the man had gone back into his room. Sgt. Kristen Spencer was first to arrive, and she spoke to the manager, who told her he heard gunshots as the female left. Spencer saw a bullet hole in the glass window and observed another one in the upper left part of the door. She knocked on the door and spoke with the male, who stated there had been an argument. When Spencer told the man it seemed like more than an argument due to the bullet holes, the man acted shocked and stated he didn’t know the woman had fired shots at the room. He said he heard shots as she drove off and thought she was firing into the air. The man didn’t identify the woman, only saying he knew her by the name “Star” and that she was an old friend.
Spencer went to the manager’s office and viewed the video footage from the motel. She saw a tan 4-door sedan pull into the parking lot around 7 a.m. 50 minutes later, the car pulled directly behind the male’s car and the woman rolls down the window. She then gets out of the car and bangs on the room door. While waiting for the man to answer, the woman appears to pull down something over her face to cover it. When the man comes out, the woman swings at him, he swings back, and they begin to fight in the parking lot. The man then goes back to the room while the woman goes to her car. She reaches in and grabs what appears to be a long rifle. She takes cover behind the man’s car and fires shots toward the room. She then gets in her vehicle and drives away.
Cpl. Nathan Burdine and Captain Scott Coffer arrived to process the scene. They found two shell casings and one live round near the man’s car where the woman had been seen firing. Martin is charged with two counts of attempted murder, as the man had a woman he identified as his newlywed wife in the room with him. Martin is also charged with possession of a weapon in a violent crime, discharging a firearm into a dwelling, and driving under suspension. Bond was denied.