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Woman accused of firing gun during fight

A Lansford woman was jailed after borough police say she fired a gun into the ground during a fight on West Ridge Street Thursday afternoon.

Sonovia Thomas, 49, was arraigned by District Judge Beth Dodson on seven counts of reckless endangerment and 14 counts of simple assault.

The judge set bail at $50,000 and Thomas was remanded to the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Nesquehoning in lieu of bail.

According to court papers, Lansford police responded to the area of 376 W. Ridge St. just after 3 p.m. for a fight involving multiple people. The Carbon County 911 Center also received calls about gunshots being fired.

Police Chief Kyle Woodward was responding to the area when people in the 200-block of West Ridge Street flagged him down to report gunshots.

Woodward arrived in the 300-block of West Ridge Street, where he observed several women fighting verbally, and asked if anyone witnessed any gunshots or a gun involved.

Thomas told the chief that she retrieved her gun from her car and it fell from her hand, hit the ground and discharged, which Woodward knows from training and experience doesn’t happen, court papers said.

Thomas told police the gun was in her vehicle and she opened the car to get the gun, but it was not there. Her daughter then said that she took the gun into the home at 376 W. Ridge St., and police retrieved the gun from inside.

The gun recovered was a black, Sig Sauer P365 9 mm. No bullets were located in the gun or magazine. Police also retrieved a 9 mm shell casing about one foot from the rear driver’s door of Thomas’ vehicle.

Thomas told police that the gun was registered and she had a permit to carry.

Through investigation, interviews and surveillance videos, police determined that Thomas got the gun from the driver’s side of her car, turned around and fired one round into the ground, court papers said.

The round was fired about a foot away from four people/family members, nearly missing their legs and feet, court papers said.

The round was also fired within 18 feet of three children, ages 8 to 11, who were sitting on a porch and not involved or related to the incident. The stray round could have traveled and hit anyone in the area, police said.

Police found that the gun was registered to Thomas and she did have a valid carrying permit.