Stephens

BUCKHANNON — A man previously convicted of rape in Oklahoma is facing multiple charges in Upshur County after allegedly threatening to shoot his wife.

Alexander Eugene Stephens, 49, is charged with one count of persons prohibited from possessing firearms and one count of wanton endangerment involving a firearm, both felonies. He is also charged with one count of domestic assault, a misdemeanor. Stephens is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Trooper C.C. Jones with the West Virginia State Police, on June 3, members of the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office and Jones responded to a residence in Buckhannon in referenced to a domestic disturbance involving a firearm.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with Stephens, the complaint states. Stephens allegedly told police he found messages on his wife’s phone where she had been talking to another man. Stephens said he took his wife’s phone and took pictures of the messages.

Jones spoke with the alleged victim, who stated that Stephens had found the messages on her phone and took the device, the complaint states. She allegedly told police that Stephens proceeded to go upstairs and retrieve a black 9mm handgun. Stephens then reportedly put the gun to the alleged victim’s forehead, stating, “I will f***ing kill you, b***h” and pulled the trigger. The alleged victim told police that the handgun was not loaded. When Jones asked her how she knew that, the alleged victim said she didn’t know it until Stephens pulled the trigger and the firearm clicked, but didn’t go off.

The alleged victim advised that Stephens normally keeps the handgun in a soft black case behind the bed in the bedroom, the complaint states. Officers searched the bedroom, but were unable to locate the gun or gun case the alleged victim described. Stephens allegedly told police that there were no firearms in the home expected for a BB gun and a CO2 pistol. Reportedly, Stephens eventually recanted this statement, telling officers that the firearm was in the bedroom closet.

According to the complaint, officers then located the handgun and its case in the closet. The gun was identified as a “stainless steel with a brown grip .32 caliber Colt handgun.” Officers also located a 12 Gauge Sears Model 200 shotgun and a .22 caliber Ranger long rifle in the bedroom closet. When Jones asked the alleged victim why she thought the gun had been a 9mm caliber handgun, she allegedly advised that Stephens had told her it was that type of firearm when they received the guns from her parents.

Jones writes in the complaint that Stephens was convicted of second degree rape, a felony, in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Dec. 20, 1994. As a convicted felon, Stephens is not permitted to possess firearms.