Drunk man thought he had been shot, but wasn't

Police say a 46-year-old Sheboygan man who went to the hospital believing he had been shot in the head was actually struck with a water bottle during a drunken brawl with his sister. Joseph M. Bonnett, of 1617-A N. 11th St., could face up to a year in jail on misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct. He was charged on Monday.

According to a criminal complaint police were called on Thursday night after Bonnett went to Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center with what he said was a gunshot wound to the head. He told police his sister or her friend shot him with a small gun. Bonnett said he heard a bang or pop, saw a flash, felt pain and fell backwards, after which he doesn’t remember anything for 15 minutes. The officer noted Bonnett’s injury was protruding from his head, not going into it. The officer noted Bonnett smelled strongly of intoxicants.



Officers went to Bonnett’s house and found his sister, who was intoxicated, along with at least three other people. Witnesses said Bonnett had approached his sister with a knife. The sister, who had several scratches on her arm that she said may have been caused by the knife, said Bonnett’s injury was caused when she threw a full bottle of water and struck him in the forehead.

Confronted with the conflicting account of the sister and another witness, Bonnett insisted he had been shot, saying then that it was with a large handgun. He said his sister took the gunpowder out of the bullet so it wouldn’t have enough force to penetrate his skull.