BY ARIS FOLLEY - 06/22/19 07:35 PM EDT
A Florida woman who recently gave her husband’s guns to local authorities for safekeeping after saying she feared for her life spent a longer time in jail for armed burglary than her husband did following a domestic violence arrest, according to multiple reports.
The Miami Herald reports 32-year-old Courtney Irby was arrested on charges of armed burglary and theft after she went to her estranged husband’s house to retrieve two of his firearms only to later hand them over to police on Sunday.
According to an arrest affidavit seen by the paper, Irby told police that she decided to take the guns from her husband’s house and turn them in because he would not.
The incident reportedly comes after the arrest of Irby’s husband, Joseph Irby, last week. According to HuffPost, Irby’s husband was arrested last Saturday following a court hearing involving the two, who are reportedly in the midst of a divorce.
The publication reports that Irby’s husband rammed his car in the back of his wife’s vehicle after the hearing, citing police documents. Police said Irby called local authorities shortly after the incident, “uncontrollably crying and advised that she was in fear for her life.”
Police reportedly arrested Irby’s husband on charges on charges of aggravated battery after the incident. According to HuffPost, Irby has previously received protective orders against her husband.
Irby’s husband was reportedly released from police custody a day after his arrest. He was later reportedly ordered by a judge turn over in firearms in his possession as a condition of his pretrial release.
That’s when Irby reportedly went to her husband’s home to retrieve his firearms and hand them over to police because she said “he wasn’t going to turn them in.” Only, once Irby arrived at the local Lakeland Police Department, she was arrested for the act after police said she admitted to burglary and theft.
As a result, Irby reportedly spent six days in police custody before she was released on bond.
Lawrence Shearer, an attorney representing Irby, dismissed his client's charges in a statement to HuffPost.
“Theft is to deprive someone of the right or benefit of property,” he said. “She didn’t do either one of those. She was taking them to the police department for safekeeping.”
“I have faith in our state attorney’s office that they will do the right thing," he also said.