Accused of beating his mother and threatening her with a knife, a 24-year-old Gillette man could face more than 10 years in prison if convicted.
Sebastian Eugene Tucker appeared at his initial hearing Monday afternoon before Campbell County Circuit Court Judge Paul Phillips, charged with one count of aggravated assault and another of domestic battery. The former carries a potential punishment of up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines, while the latter is punishable by up to six months in jail and $750 in fines.
A woman called Gillette police from her home on Lexington Avenue at about 10:37 Saturday morning to report that her son, Tucker, had pulled a knife and threatened her with it, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
Officers arrived at the home to find the woman at the front door, reportedly saying Tucker had locked himself inside his room.
The altercation started in her bedroom, where she and her son were arguing about a loud noise outside the house. Because of Tucker’s disorder, which the affidavit later explains is oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), Tucker was irritated by the loud noise.
Tucker started yelling at his mom and beating her arms, then her body, with his hands, the document alleges.
“Why don’t you kill me?” he asked while hitting her, according to the document.
She said she wouldn’t do that.
“Then I will have the cops do it,” Tucker allegedly answered.
The document says their argument continued into the kitchen, where Tucker pulled a purple knife from a drawer and pointed it at her from about 7 feet away, asking, “Do you want to die?”
That’s when the mother said she’d call police, reportedly.
Tucker put the knife back in the drawer, went to the bedroom and locked the door, the document says.
Come Out
In what became a standoff-style scene in the neighborhood, officers tried to contact Tucker through the front door of the home and placed multiple calls to his cellphone but couldn’t get through to him, reportedly.
Meanwhile, Tucker’s mother reported that he’d threatened various violent acts throughout the day, like lighting the house on fire, and said officers should “bring their guns” if they came to the home.
Agents went out and got a search warrant for the home and to seize the purple knife. GPD deployed a drone and special response teams to the home , and had Tucker in custody by 2:20 p.m., the Gillette News Record reports.
‘Extensive History’
The affidavit says Tucker has an “extensive history of threatening household members and other people in the neighborhood.”
It lists a few of these claims, saying GPD investigated a public intoxication report last June, in which Tucker was reportedly violent and scared his grandmother.
The agency investigated a breach of peace report in December of 2022, in which the man threatened to kill his grandmother and other people in the home; and another from June 24, 2020, where Tucker reportedly charged his neighbors across the street while brandishing an open pocket knife, says the document.
In Court
In court Monday, Tucker told Judge Phillips he has been diagnosed with a mental illness but it did not prevent him from working. He then said he doesn't have a job because he "hasn't gone out and looked" and "his mom helps him out."
As part of his bond, Phillips ordered Tucker to get a job within 14 days of release and forbade him from having contact with his mother or being at her residence.
Tucker’s bond is set at $25,000 cash or surety. His preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 4.
Cowboy State Daily writer Jen Kocher contributed to this report.
