TRAVELERS REST, S.C. -- A man who is accused of holding a gun to his head after pointing it at his wife outside a Travelers Rest Chick-fil-A has been linked to a homicide in Rutherford County, North Carolina.
Jason Daniel Butler, 45, of Chase High Road in Forest City, N.C., and his wife, Shannon Butler, 43, are both facing charges.
Jason Butler is charged with pointing and presenting a firearm in Travelers Rest and charged separately with murder by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. Shannon Butler is charged with illegal possession of a firearm.
Rutherford County deputies learned of a homicide after Travelers Rest police said they found Jason Butler with a gun to his own head outside the Chick-fil-A restaurant on Benton Road Monday night.
Officers in Travelers Rest were called there around 8:21 p.m. Monday for a report of a disturbance with a weapon.
There they found Shannon Butler outside the restaurant sitting with two handguns and found Jason Butler holding a gun to his head, according to an incident report.
They put Shannon Butler in handcuffs before approaching Jason Butler in a vehicle and ordering him to put the gun down.
"He at some point surrendered without a conflict. The officers didn't have to use force or anything," said Travelers Rest Police Chief Lance Crowe.
While in custody, Jason Butler told officers that he was responsible for a shooting that took place at his home, Crowe said.
He told authorities he was in distress over the recent shooting so Travelers Rest police notified the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office then checked Jason Butler's home and found 49-year-old Michael Dale Splawn deceased.
Shannon Butler told police her husband had been on several medications. She said he was delirious and becoming more aggressive in recent days, according to the report.
A warrant states Jason Butler pointed the firearm at Shannon Butler before turning the gun on himself.
They were both arraigned separately in front of a municipal court judge in Travelers Rest Tuesday afternoon.
Jason Butler walked in the courtroom slowly and his breathing was labored. He asked Judge Phillip Tate about the nature of his charge.
"I’m only charged with aiming a gun at myself, correct?" Jason Butler asked.
"No sir, there is a victim in the case," Tate said in response.
During Shannon Butler's hearing, she told the judge that she was "running from her life," which is why she was found with firearms near her. She said she waited until Jason Butler passed out to run away.
"The guns I had in my hands was to keep him away from shooting me. He already told me he was going to kill me after we ate," Shannon Butler told the judge. "He said, 'Time is almost up. I'm going to kill you and I'm going to kill myself."
After facing charges from the Chick-fil-A incident, Jason Butler will be extradited back to North Carolina, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
