Shooting investigation leads to one arrest

A Whitley County Sheriff’s deputy and a Corbin Police K-9 team tracked down a Corbin man early Sunday morning following a shooting investigation at his home. No one was injured, and alcohol involvement is suspected.

Deputy Chad Foley arrested Mark Adam McFarland, 49, of 365 Bacon Creek Road, at 1:06 a.m. and charged him with two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and alcohol intoxication, according to an arrest citation.

The incident occurred about midnight near the Bacon Creek area, which is about 0.3 miles east of Corbin.

Foley, Deputy Chad Estep, Court Security Officer Clayton Shelton, Corbin Police K-9 Officer Robbie Hodge and his K-9 Lucy were dispatched to McFarland’s residence after getting a call that McFarland had allegedly tried to shoot himself, and had left the scene on foot, according to an arrest citation.

When police arrived, Lucy tracked McFarland down about 50 yards away from his home in the wood line, the citation stated.

The male subject was found lying in heavy brush and shrubbery in an attempt to hide from law enforcement, and was apprehended without incident, according to a sheriff’s department release.

McFarland could not stand on his own, had a strong odor of alcoholic beverages on his person, and allegedly told police that he had drunk two bottles of Vodka and tried to shoot himself, his arrest citation noted.

When Foley entered McFarland’s bedroom he observed what appeared to be an entry gunshot into the wall next to McFarland’s bed, and an exit gunshot in the laundry room behind McFarland’s bedroom, the arrest citation stated.

Angela McFarland told police that she heard a loud bang and walked into Mark McFarland’s bedroom where she saw him holding a gun. Deputies recovered a single shot .410 shotgun that smelled like it had been freshly fired, Foley wrote on the citation.

The citation alleged that Mark McFarland wantonly created risk to cause death or serious physical injury to Angela McFarland and their son by firing the firearm in the home, the citation stated.

“Our agency is extremely thankful for the assistance of Corbin Police Department and their new K-9 addition. Their assistance led to a peaceful conclusion. It is one of our priorities to work with other agencies and to support those agencies around us,” Sheriff Todd Shelley said in a release.

McFarland was also served with an outstanding arrest warrant, and was lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center.