Mt. Pleasant Township woman accused of shooting truck pleads guilty to lesser charges

An attempted homicide charge against a Mt. Pleasant Township woman accused of shooting her estranged husband’s pickup truck while he stood nearby was dropped Friday in exchange for her guilty plea on lesser charges.

Fauna J. McDowell, 35, was sentenced to nine to 23 months in the Westmoreland County Prison followed by two years of probation. She will report to the jail to begin serving the sentence on July 15, according to a court order.

McDowell pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and terroristic threats.

State police said the shooting happened during a domestic dispute Nov. 12 at the pair’s St. Clair Township home. Troopers said there was a bullet hole in Justin R. McDowell’s truck.

Justin McDowell, 35, told police he went to their Pennsylvania Lane home, south of New Florence off Route 711, to pick up some tools and other items while Fauna McDowell was not home, according to papers. The pair was separated at the time, police said.

During a confrontation between the two, troopers said Justin McDowell grabbed his handgun from inside the pickup and pointed it at her, knocking her to the ground while she was pulling items out of the truck. He then demanded Fauna McDowell go inside the house, according to court papers.

Police said she did, and retrieved her handgun, firing two shots toward the pickup while Justin McDowell stood nearby. He was not hurt.

Justin McDowell pleaded guilty in December and was sentenced to two to 23 months in jail on charges of terroristic threats, simple assault and a weapons violation, according to court records. He was ordered to spend one year on probation after the jail term.