Port St. Lucie man charged with domestic assault, firing gun while drunk

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - A 34-year-old man who smelled of alcohol was arrested after being accused of firing several shots from a handgun and breaking down a door in his home, according to recently released police records.

Timothy Lance Ehman, of the 3600 block of Southwest San Benito Street, initially told Port St. Lucie police early Saturday morning that he fired his 9 mm pistol at a hog "standing from his garage out across the front roadway and also in his backyard," a report states. Investigators found six bullet holes in the back yard fence.

Ehman later said someone else did the shooting, but declined to give a name.

Ehman said a damaged door in a bedroom was due to his "re-modeling," but Nichole Criss, thought to be Ehman's girlfriend, told investigators that Ehman "forcefully knocked the door down knowing that she was on the other side."

Criss, 26, who was arrested on a warrant, initially said she didn't know who was shooting, but later named Ehman. She said he was celebrating "like the Fourth of July." Criss at first also denied arguing with Ehman. When an officer said he heard the two quarreling when he first arrived, Criss said they did argue. She said Ehman wanted to get in the bedroom, but she wouldn't let him.

Ehman's 2-year-old son was asleep during the incident, Criss told investigators.

Police found a loaded handgun under a stool in the master bathroom shower.

A report describes Criss as "fearful, crying and irrational," while Ehman was "calm."

Ehman, who smelled of alcohol, was arrested on charges including assault (domestic violence), culpable negligence, discharging a firearm in public and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

Criss was arrested on a warrant out of Polk County.

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