Councilman accused of hitting teen with pistol

A newly elected Jonesville councilman was arrested Tuesday on accusations he pistol-whipped a teenager.

Ernest Bernard Moore, 57, of 202 Franklin St. was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature after an argument in front of his home about 11 p.m. Monday.

Victim Bradley Murphy, 18, of Jonesville was transported to Wallace Thomson Hospital in Union, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

Moore was held at the Union County Jail and released Tuesday evening after posting a $10,000 bond.

Witnesses said Murphy and friends were outside Moore's house when the councilman began to curse at them, according to reports from the Union County Sheriff's Office. The men argued, and Moore retrieved a pistol from inside his house.

He struck Murphy in the head with the gun, causing the pistol to discharge a bullet into the street.

Moore, a retired truck driver who garnered the most votes in town elections this month, said after his release from jail that Murphy and other young people had been harassing him and that Murphy had threatened him.

Up to 25 teenagers commonly gather in front of his house, which sits across the street from public housing units, Moore said. He complained to local law enforcement several times this month after someone broke liquor bottles on his car and egged his carport, he said.

Moore said he regrets using the gun and is glad Murphy was not seriously hurt.

"I admit it was my mistake, but they pushed me to the limit," he said.

State Law Enforcement Division agents brought the charge against Moore to avoid any conflict of interest with local law enforcement.

Moore's arrest Tuesday was not his first run-in with the law. He has past convictions including assault and resisting an officer who was trying to serve a legal process, but those crimes occurred more than a decade ago, according to SLED records.

Rachel E. Leonard can be reached at 562-7230, or

rachel.leonard@shj.com.