Police have charged a man for threatening his girlfriend with a rifle and keeping her at his residence for more than a day.
On May 12, police said the alleged victim was talking to her boyfriend, Rick Doyle Latimer, 35, who was upset that his ex-wife was filing to have full custody of their two children. According to the affidavit, Latimer said to her he was going to kill his ex-wife, her new husband and another family member. He also said he "should just burn the house down to end it all for everyone," as his children were in a different room of the home.
He then proceeded to light a towel on fire before the girlfriend convinced him to put it out. As the two argued, Latimer struck her in the back with a rifle and punched her several times on her upper back, causing bruising and pain that the officers later noted.
He allegedly led her to a bedroom with the rifle and told her "no one would miss her and no one would know she was gone." While he took her cell phone outside she attempted to leave. He came back inside and wrestled her and took her keys away.
He then had her stay in the bedroom while he was in the living room yelling at her for the rest of the night.
The morning of May 13, he took the children to school. She stayed in the home, afraid he would harm or kill the children. When he returned he continued to yell at her and threaten to kill her. She said she was afraid to leave "as she knew his history of assaultive behavior."
On May 14, Latimer slammed her small dog into the kitchen floor and attempted to shoot it. Police later found a shell casing on the kitchen floor.
He came back into the bedroom and shot at a laptop that was sitting next to the victim. Police also later found gunshots on the laptop. After this incident, the woman managed to run out of the residence. As she made her way to the landlords' house on the property, she heard the rifle fire off.
911 was called from the landlords' house. Latimer left the property a few minutes later, but called 911 from Lago Vista, telling police where he was. He was then arrested, and remains in Travis County Jail on an aggravated kidnapping charge as of the afternoon of May 17.
