A 33-year-old Fayetteville man has been charged with aggravated assault with a weapon after firing shots outside a home on Lake Burton early Wednesday morning, investigators said.
Christian Caleb Fortune was arrested and booked into the Rabun County Detention Center on two felony aggravated assault charges, discharging a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and disorderly conduct.
Rabun County Sheriff Chad Nichols says deputies were dispatched to a home in the 300 block of Finch Drive around 2 a.m. on May 8 after reports of a man firing gunshots. When deputies arrived at the residence, Nichols says they found Fortune outside with a handgun.
According to investigators, deputies spoke with two people inside the home, identified as Ryan Ochoa and Katrina Stuart. The pair told deputies there was a verbal altercation over issues in the movie industry.
“Both told deputies that Fortune was drunk, became aggressive, and eventually took out a gun,” says Nichols.
Stuart and Ochoa told deputies they feared for their safety, sought shelter away from Fortune, and called 911. Fortune allegedly moved around the home with the gun before going outside and recklessly firing multiple shots, says Sheriff Nichols.
According to Rabun County Sheriff’s Investigator Kevin Angell, Fortune then allegedly concealed the weapon before deputies arrived.
“Deputies collected nine 9mm spent casings from the front of the property and a Beretta handgun from a vehicle,” says Angell.
Authorities arrested Fortune and booked him on the two felony assault charges and the two misdemeanors.
Investigators have confirmed that the parties involved in Wednesday’s altercation are actors.
According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Ochoa is an actor/singer whose recent credits include the films Room for Rent and The Samuel Project. Stuart, too, is listed as an actor/singer, and Fortune has several acting credits to his name.
Investigator Angell says it’s fortunate no one was hurt.
“It’s never ok to mishandle a firearm, especially in the presence of others and certainly not while you’re intoxicated,” he says.
Fortune remained in the Rabun County jail as of Wednesday afternoon without bond.
