Julie Kuhns Got Hopped Up on Vodka Monday Morning and "Accidentally" Shot Her Married Boyfriend | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
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Julie Kuhns Got Hopped Up on Vodka Monday Morning and "Accidentally" Shot Her Married Boyfriend

Julie Kuhns' boyfriend might have some explaining to do...to his wife.Kuhns, 45, was arrested Monday after admitting to police that she drank a third of a bottle of vodka before "accidentally" shooting her boyfriend in the chest.Her boyfriend, it turns out, is married to another woman.According to court documents obtained...
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Julie Kuhns' boyfriend might have some explaining to do...to his wife.

Kuhns, 45, was arrested Monday after admitting to police that she drank a third of a bottle of vodka before "accidentally" shooting her boyfriend in the chest.

Her boyfriend, it turns out, is married to another woman.

According to court documents obtained by New Times, the unidentified boyfriend and Kuhns have been seeing each other romantically for about two years. During that time, the couple has had numerous fights, and police note that Kuhns has a history of domestic violence and jealousy issues when it comes to her married amore.

On Monday morning, about 11:30, Kuhns drank what she later told police was about a third of a "12-inch-tall" bottle of vodka before her boyfriend showed up at her Scottsdale home, as he does everyday, according to Kuhns.

When Kuhns' boyfriend got to her house, he was carrying dry cleaning and a cup of coffee, which he spilled while walking through Kuhns' laundry room.

The boyfriend started yelling at Kuhns about the spilled coffee. He continued to yell at her as she cleaned up the mess he'd made.

When Kuhns finished cleaning up the coffee, she and her married boyfriend were standing in her kitchen on opposite sides of an island. Kuhns' boyfriend continued to yell about the coffee, she later told police, which turned out to be a bad move.

To get him to stop yelling, Kuhns grabbed a .22-caliber handgun out of a drawer in the kitchen and pulled the trigger, shooting her boyfriend in the chest.

Kuhns boyfriend stumbled into a bedroom and told Kuhns to call police, which she did.

When police arrived, Kuhns told officers she didn't mean for the gun to fire -- she says she thought the chamber was empty and she only pulled the trigger to scare her boyfriend, who often carries a gun on his hip -- although, he didn't have the gun with him the morning of the shooting.

Kuhns boyfriend was taken to a nearby hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries to try and remove the bullet from his torso. His injuries, police say, are non-life-threatening, although he's still in the hospital.

Kuhns was booked into a Maricopa County jail on one count each aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct involving a weapon. Her next court appearance is scheduled for November 1. 

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