Distraught Woman Fires at Deputies
A Topanga Canyon woman, said to be distraught over a failed romance, was arrested on suspicion of negligently discharging a firearm early Friday after she shot at sheriff’s deputies who responded to her threats of suicide, authorities said.
Jennifer Vaughn, 33, was being held at Sybil Brand Institute after surrendering to the deputies about 2:30 a.m., Sgt. Robert Stoneman said.
Vaughn phoned the Malibu station about 11:30 p.m. Thursday saying she had taken some pills, had a gun, and was feeling suicidal, Stoneman said.
When three deputies came to her mobile home on Cherokee Road, she fired three shots in their direction with a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun.
The deputies called for a SWAT unit and surrounded her home.
But Vaughn surrendered about three hours later, after lengthy phone negotiations with deputies, Stoneman said.
No one was injured during the incident, he said.
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