Victim of July 2023 alleged shooting suing husband and his parents

A Williamsburg woman, who was allegedly shot by her estranged husband in July and left permanently disabled, is now suing not only the man who shot her, but also his parents who reside on the property where the shooting allegedly took place, according to court documents.

However, in their answer to the lawsuit, the parents of the alleged shooter deny that the shooting took place on their property.

On July 11, 2023, Steward Peace, 42, and Misty Peace, 41, were flown by emergency helicopter from Corbin to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington after sustaining gunshot wounds.

Steward Peace’s arrest warrant stated that when Officer Estes Rhodes arrived at the scene in the area of Fifth Street Road and Scuffletown Road, he heard a subject in a nearby wooded area, and went to investigate. He found both Steward Peace and Misty Peace laying on their backs, both having a single gunshot wound.

The warrant stated that Steward Peace was responsive, but when asked who had shot them, he would not give an answer.

Steward Peace had a Hi-Point 40-caliber pistol laying under his body, which police took into evidence, the warrant stated.

The warrant also mentioned a witness, who was on Scuffletown Road and observed a 2019 Chevy Equinox coming down a driveway. She told police that the victim, who was driving, “exited the vehicle and ran into the woods and Steward exited the passenger side of the vehicle and chased her into the woods.”

On July 28, Misty Peace’s father, Teddy D. Prewitt, was appointed as her guardian in Whitley District Court.

On Aug. 31, Misty Peace through her guardian, Teddy D. Prewitt, filed for divorce from Steward Peace in Whitley Circuit Court.

On Sept. 19, Misty Peace through her guardian, Prewitt, filed a lawsuit in Whitley Circuit Court against Steward Peace alleging that Steward Peace “wrongfully, intentionally, and maliciously, with malice and aforethought, assaulted and battered the Plaintiff, Misty Renee Peace, with a firearm grievously wounding her and causing catastrophic injuries,” which made her permanently disabled.

“The resulting permanent injury and disability have required the Plaintiff (Misty Peace) to have daily living assistance and the inability to be gainfully employed,” attorney David O. Smith wrote in the lawsuit.

On Oct. 16, a Whitley County grand jury indicted Steward Peace on a charge of attempted murder for allegedly shooting Misty Peace in the back of the head on July 11.

A status hearing in Steward Peace’s criminal case is scheduled for April 1 in Whitley Circuit Court. As of Tuesday morning, Steward Peace remained lodged in the Fayette County Detention Center.

On Jan. 17, Misty Peace through her guardian and father, Teddy Prewitt, filed a lawsuit in Whitley Circuit Court against Alvin Gibson and Mary Gibson.

The couple are identified in the lawsuit as residing at a 2151 Fifth Street Road, Corbin, residence.

The shooting allegedly took place in the driveway of this residence, according to the warrant of arrest in Steward Peace’s criminal case.

Steward Peace, who is identified as Alvin Gibson and Mary Gibson’s son, was allegedly staying at the Gibson’s residence when the shooting took place, according to the lawsuit.

“The assailant, Steward Allen Peace, was carrying a pistol on the premises. The Defendants and their other son, Joseph Earl Peace, now deceased, had full knowledge of and were aware of the assailant’s violent tendencies and failed to alert, stop, or halt the shooting and maiming of the Plaintiff, Misty Peace, on their premises,” Smith wrote in the new lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks for a judgment against Alvin and Mary Gibson for compensatory damages, and for a trial by jury.

“Defendants specifically deny that the incident that is the subject of this litigation took place on Defendants’ property,” Lexington attorney Jamie Wilhite Dittert wrote in the Gibson’s answer to the lawsuit, which added that the couple did not own the premises where the incident occurred.

“At the time of and on the occasion referred to in the Complaint, the Plaintiff’s injuries and/or damages, if any, were caused and brought about by the sole, primary, and active negligence of other persons or parties, without any negligence on the part of the Defendants, and but for which said accident would not have occurred, and Defendants plead and rely upon the same as a bar, in whole, to the claims of the Plaintiff.”

The answer also denies other allegations listed in the lawsuit.

The answer to the lawsuit asks for the lawsuit to be dismissed, for the Gibson’s costs expended as a result of the lawsuit, and for a reasonable fee for its attorney. It also asks for a trial by jury, and any and all other relief to which it may appear properly entitled.