Woman accused of shooting neighbor for dumping trash in driveway

COVINGTON, Ga. — Police say an argument over garbage led to gunfire Tuesday.

Covington police say Sandra Ashby, 55, pulled the trigger after seeing a man tossing plastic chairs into a trash trailer in her driveway.
 
"It's ridiculous," said neighbor Mary Davis. "It really is. You're going to shoot somebody over trash?"
 
Davis lives across the street on Hardwick Circle. She told Channel 2's Carl Willis she went to the door when she heard Ashby arguing with the victim, Lee Shepherd, who is a neigbor.
 
James Freeman said he's Ashby's boyfriend and lives in the home.
 
He said Ashby allows her cousin to keep the trailer at her home. The cousin cleans out foreclosed homes. Tuesday, Freeman said Ashby had enough with the mess.
 
He wasn't around during the shooting but doesn't believe Ashby intended to hurt anyone.
 
"She just shot up in the air," said Freeman. "She did not shoot at anyone."
 
Davis said otherwise. "I saw her point and when it popped, I jumped back and closed the door."
 
Police arrived at the home and found a loaded .22 handgun with one spent shell.
 
Freeman claims this was a misunderstanding. He says Ashby served in the military and knows her way around a gun. 
 
"If she was intending to shoot somebody, they would be dead," he said. 
 
Ashby was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. Freeman says she was given a $10,000 bond but remains in the Newton County jail.

WSBTV