Firearm discharge results in drug arrest

Bloomington police arrested a man Friday on marijuana-related preliminary charges after he accidentally discharged a shotgun and the bullet hit his roommate.

Durrel Hembree, 19, was booked into Monroe County Jail Friday and released Saturday. He currently faces preliminary charges for possession of marijuana with intent to deal.

After an interview with Hembree, police determined the shooting to be accidental.
Police were dispatched to an apartment on the 1300 block of South Walnut Street at about 5:30 p.m. Friday in reference to a man sustaining a gunshot wound to the knee, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Dana Cole said.

Upon arrival, police made contact with Hembree, who told police he had been smoking marijuana prior to the incident and then picked up a 12-gauge shotgun he didn’t believe was loaded.

He then dropped the gun, which caused it to discharge. A bullet traveled through the bathroom door, Cole said, hitting the knee of Hembree’s 19-year-old roommate as he was getting out of the shower.

The roommate sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital following the incident.

Police also located paraphernalia and more than 30 grams of marijuana in Hembree’s bedroom, Cole said.

Hembree told police the marijuana was his and admitted to dealing, at which time police arrested him and preliminarily charged him for possession of marijuana with intent to deal.
 
— Kirsten Clark