Man Accused of Threatening and Harming Family Members Faces Multiple Charges

A man who was shot by his brother-in-law in self defense after allegedly threatening relatives while armed with a knife and gun was booked into the Oconee County Jail this week.

According to an incident report at the , Oconee deputies met Morgan County deputies on Price Mill Road at the county line Wednesday, Jan. 18 to pick up James Erik Hester, 33, on warrants for charges of aggravated assault, two counts of battery, and four counts of terroristic threats and acts.

The charges came from an investigation into. Witnesses, all family members including two children, said Hester had been threatening them and firing shots into the air, Chief Deputy Lee Weems said the day following the incident.

Brian Bowden, Hester's brother-in-law, told deputies he shot Hester once in self defense with Hester's own gun inside the home after Hester had tried to stab him multiple times with a knife. Hester was taken to and treated for a single, non-life threatening gunshot to the abdomen.

during the investigation.  Weems told the Athens Banner-Herald Hester, who had been living in Morgan County, turned himself in once he was well enough to go to jail.

Hester was released on a $25,000 bond on Thursday, Jan. 19, according to jail records.