Elyria man accused of shooting girlfriend in the arm

An Elyria man is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly shooting his girlfriend in the arm Aug. 1 at his Beebe Avenue residence. Bruce Estep, 40, was indicted Thursday in Common Pleas Court on two counts of felonious assault and one count each of domestic violence, tampering with evidence and having weapons under disability, all felonies, along with a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business. The felonious assault and evidence tampering charges carry firearm specifications that could add mandatory prison time onto any sentence Estep gets if he is convicted of those charges. Arrested Aug. 2, Estep posted a $50,000 surety bond issued by an Elyria Municipal Court judge and released from the Lorain County Jail on Aug. 15, according to court and jail records. The case hasn't been assigned to a judge. A message seeking comment on the charges was left for Estep's attorney. According to Elyria police and the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office, Estep's girlfriend showed up early in the morning Aug. 2 at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the left arm. Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chris Pierre said Estep dropped the woman off at the hospital, alone and bleeding, then parked his SUV outside. The alleged victim told police the shooting happened in one place, but changed details in her story and later said it happened somewhere else, Pierre said. Estep told police the shooting happened outside his home, and that his girlfriend was shot by unknown assailants, Pierre said. He said police got Estep's permission to search his SUV and home and found blood in both. Officers also found a spent shell casing on the bed, an ammunition magazine with one round missing and a bullet hole in the wall under the headboard of the bed, according to Pierre. The domestic violence charge is a felony because Estep has two prior convictions for domestic battery, both felonies, in Logan County, West Virginia in 2015 and 2018, according to his indictment. Because he is a convicted felon, state and federal law say Estep is not allowed to own nor possess guns. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com