Wellton man allegedly tries to break into ex-wife's residence with shotgun

A Wellton man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly trying to break into his ex-wife's residence while armed with a shotgun.

According to Capt. Eben Bratcher of the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a home in the 23000 Block of County 12 1/4 E on Friday at about 10:22 p.m. for a report of a man with a shotgun threatening a woman and trying to break into her home.

“The situation was not going to end well,” Bratcher said. “But due to the intervention of the deputies, it ended about as well as it could have.”

Bratcher said when deputies arrived, they found the 69-year-old Larry Noll, drunk and armed with a double-barreled shotgun, on the front porch of his ex-wife's residence. Agents from the Yuma Sector Border Patrol also responded to the scene.

Deputies, at gunpoint, order Noll several times to put down the shotgun, which he finally did. Not wanting to take any chances, they decided to shoot Noll with a Taser and took him into custody.

“If he had done anything in a threatening manner, deputies might not have had the opportunity to end the encounter with a Taser,” Bratcher said.

Bratcher said when deputies rushed the porch to put handcuffs on Noll, the loaded 12-gauge shotgun, which did not have a trigger guard, unintentionally discharged. He said it most likely got kicked or stepped on or caught on some type of object during the incident. No one was harmed, however.

A records check later revealed that Noll is a prohibited firearms possessor.

Noll was booked into the Yuma county jail on charges of burglary and various other weapons and domestic violence charges. He is currently being held on a $91,587 bond.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.