Augusta man pleads guilty in son’s arrow wound

HARN, JAMES WESLEY, JR - 04/15/2022 - Aggravated Assault-Family-Other Weapon

Date: August 31, 2022

An Augusta man who shot his son with a bow and arrow after an argument turned physical pleaded guilty Tuesday, Aug. 30.

James W. Harn, 66, was sentenced to seven years of probation under the First Offender Act. Judge Amanda Health accepted the negotiated sentence in Richmond County Superior Court.

Harn and his son got into an argument April 15 over the treatment of a dog, said Assistant District Attorney Justin Mullis said. There was some pushing back and forth before Harn got his crossbow out.

MORE: 911 call sheds more light on Sunday shooting

Defense attorney Jordan Price said Harn wanted the judge to understand he didn’t mean to shoot his son, only to fire an arrow near him.

Mullis said the injury was minor.

As a condition of probation, Heath ordered Harn to have no violent contact with his son. The two intend to live together after Harn is released from jail where he has been held since his arrest last spring.


Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com. 

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The Author

Award-winning journalist Sandy Hodson The Augusta Press courts reporter. She is a native of Indiana, but she has been an Augusta resident since 1995 when she joined the staff of the Augusta Chronicle where she covered courts and public affairs. Hodson is a graduate of Ball State University, and she holds a certificate in investigative reporting from the Investigative Reporters and Editors organization. Before joining the Chronicle, Hodson spent six years at the Jackson, Tenn. Sun. Hodson received the prestigious Georgia Press Association Freedom of Information Award in 2015, and she has won press association awards for investigative reporting, non-deadline reporting, hard news reporting, public service and specialty reporting. In 2000, Hodson won the Georgia Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, and in 2001, she received Honorable Mention for the same award and is a fellow of the National Press Foundation and a graduate of the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting boot camp.

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