The woman who fired a gun outside the United Community Bank in Cornelia last week has been charged with reckless conduct, online jail records show. Mary Leigh Sheriff-Welborn of Demorest was arrested and released from the Habersham County Detention Center on Friday. The charge against her is a misdemeanor.
Sheriff-Welborn publicly admitted she shot at the tire on her husband’s stolen truck in an attempt to keep the driver from getting away. Police identified the driver as 31-year-old Sterling Strength of Monroe. He ditched the truck about a mile from where the shooting took place on September 3 and was arrested the following day at a house in Banks County.
According to police, Sheriff-Welborn confronted Strength about the stolen vehicle in the bank parking lot at the corner of US 441 and Level Grove Road. When he brandished a firearm, she walked back to her car, retrieved a gun, and shot at the vehicle.
MORE Confrontation over stolen truck leads to shooting
No one was injured in the shooting, but the incident frightened people in the area. Four passengers inside the truck fled before the shooting. When shots rang out, customers inside the bank say employees moved them into the vault for safety.
Banks County deputies arrested Strength the next day at a residence on Bellamy Road in Homer where he had previously stayed. The resident told deputies she knew police were looking for him and that he threatened to burn down her house if she didn’t give him a ride.
Deputies charged him with theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon or felony first offender. It appears no charges have yet been filed against him in Habersham.
Cornelia Police Chief Jonathan Roberts has scheduled a press conference about the incident on Monday morning, September 12. Now Habersham will update this story when new information becomes available.
