A Powell woman suffered a gunshot wound to her leg last week while reportedly attempting to get a firearm away from a suicidal partner.

The pregnant woman — who reportedly told police that she accidentally fired the gun — received medical treatment at Powell Valley Hospital.

Her partner, a 20-year-old Powell man, has been charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless endangering for allegedly bringing the gun into the situation.

An affidavit composed by Powell Police Officer Niko Chavez and based on statements provided by the couple indicates they got into an extended argument on Thursday morning.

The young man grew progressively sad, the affidavit says, and he eventually brought a Glock 19 handgun to his partner, put it at her feet and “commanded” her to pick it up and shoot him.

When the man later moved the weapon to a basket, the woman reportedly tried to grab it, fearing the man might shoot himself. The man also reached for the gun, the affidavit says, but the woman was able to get it away from him. As she turned, however, the woman “believed she potentially squeezed the trigger, thus causing the firearm to discharge,” Officer Chavez wrote. 

The woman was struck in the right leg and the man took her to the hospital, the affidavit says. That’s where police were summoned, around 10:20 a.m.

Officers arrested the 20-year-old and then spent much of Thursday afternoon at the couple’s Seventh Street home, waiting for and then executing a search warrant.

At his initial appearance in Park County Circuit Court on Friday, the man indicated he wanted to plead “no contest” to the reckless endangering, but he agreed to plead not guilty at the recommendation of presiding Court Commissioner Jim Davis and Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Ericka Smith.

“You don’t have a significant criminal history, you’re young, and I think you need to take some time, talk to an attorney before you plead, essentially, what is a guilty plea,” Davis advised.

Smith requested that bail be set at $1,500 cash, and Davis agreed. While the man is not alleged to have made any threats against his partner, and while the woman doesn’t have any concerns about her own safety, “the state believes [the man] is a danger to himself,” Smith said.

If the man posts bail, he will need to give any other firearms to a family member or friend.

Although the man remained in the Park County Detention Center over the weekend, he did not appear on the jail’s online inmate roster. That indicates he’s also subject to a Title 25 hold, in which a person is believed to pose a danger to themselves or others as a result of mental illness. Records show he was released on Monday.