MARLIN, TX — A dispute between two neighbors has the whole town of Marlin talking.
It involves a write-in candidate for city council, some neighborhood dogs and a stray bullet.
It all resulted in a criminal charge and a night in jail.
Marlin community activist Stacie Eisenbise sits in a Falls County Jail cell, charged with a third-degree felony.
According to officials, she used a gun to shoo away neighborhood dogs that killed her chickens. One bullet went astray and went through a bedroom window of a neighboring house belonging to Fran Drake, missing her, but hitting a television.
Drake says it terrified her, so she pressed criminal charges.
Drake and her lawyer refused comment, while Eisenbise wanted to consult an attorney before speaking.
Neighbors on this quiet Marlin street, call the incident, far from normal for this close-knit neighborhood.
"How has this affected neighborhood morale? As far as I know, no, not that I'm aware of," said neighbor Richard Ealkki.
Family members say Eisenbise apologized to Drake when she learned about the incident. Eisenbise thought it ended there.
A sheriff's department investigation charged Eisenbise with deadly conduct.
We tried to get an explanation of the charge against Eisenbise from Sheriff Ricky Scaman, but he could not be reached today.
The charge came as a complete surprise to the Eisenbise family. Eisenbise learned of it in a Wednesday morning phone call from a sheriff's deputy. She did as she was told and reported to the Falls County Jail.
Back in this quiet neighborhood, people don't know what to make of the stray bullet.
"Can you assign any intent to this incident? No, not really, I can't assign any intent to it at all," said Ealkki.
Folks living here, describe an atmosphere where people help each other, and disagreement almost never happens. They say, neighbors here just don't turn on each other, which makes the charge against Stacie Eisenbise, and her jail stay, all the more puzzling.
”Is there a lesson to be learned here? Yeah, there is. What is it? To think about where you're shooting,” Ealkki said.
So, while the debate here continues over whether Eisenbise was protecting her property, or made a dangerous mistake, it seems a decision on that will have to come from a Falls County judge.
