A Caulfield resident has been charged after allegedly threatening a family member and fleeing from law enforcement while armed with a handgun. At least part of the altercation was witnessed by five children who were in the home at the time, and the gun was left loaded and within reach of the children as the suspect ran from deputies, according to court documents.
Derrick D. Bruffett, 36, faces three felonies: fourth-degree domestic assault, repeat offense; unlawful use of a weapon by exhibiting; and resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony.
According to court records, Howell County Deputy Tessa Jens arrived to the scene to investigate a call received by dispatch. In that call, it was reported a boy had gone to the Bullseye gas station in Caulfield, said his father had struck his mother and threatened her with a gun, and said there were four other children in the home.
Jens also had additional information about the incident, including that Bruffett had walked to the gas station and bought Fireball shots, appeared to be visibly shaking and walked back toward his home.
When she arrived, Jens saw Bruffett walking in the direction of his home and ordered him to stop as she stopped her patrol vehicle; instead, she reported, he turned and ran to his house and attempted to slam the front door behind him in an effort to escape.
Jens said she forced the door open and followed Bruffett inside, saw him reach towards his waistband at the small of his back, drew her service firearm and pointed it at him after she saw a black object in his waistband.
She said she ordered Bruffett to stop, but he continued to run through the house, still trying to pull the object from his waistband. After he disappeared around a corner toward the kitchen and quickly reappeared with his hands in the air, Bruffett reportedly first complied with orders to go outside and get on the ground, but stood up as two more deputies arrived, yelling, "I'm not afraid of your pistol, b****,” as they approached and tried to place him in handcuffs.
Bruffett then reportedly became combative and was taken to the ground by the three deputies, where he was handcuffed.
The woman Bruffett allegedly assaulted told a deputy he had slapped her face, at one point threatened to shoot himself while holding the gun to his head, then threatened to shoot her while pointing the gun at her.
Jens said she saw a red mark on the victim's face where she appeared to have been struck, and when she returned to the house with the victim, found a Hi-Point C9 handgun, loaded and with a bullet in the chamber, on the kitchen counter. The firearm's safety was not engaged and fully accessible to all five children in the home, Jens added, the youngest being 8 years old.
The victim said Bruffett had retrieved the gun from the top of an entertainment center, and the children, who appeared to be in emotional distress, all reportedly said they had seen Bruffett with the gun.
The suspect was arrested and released with $25,000 bond, and Bruffett is due to make a court appearance on Feb. 5 before 37th Judicial Associate Circuit Court Judge R. David Ray. The case is being prosecuted by Howell County Prosecutor Mike Hutchings.
