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Indiana Man Jailed After Argument Over Bruno Mars Song Turns Violent
Roger D. Washburn, 71, is accused of pistol-whipping his friend of 50 years after the men can't agree who sung a popular song (it was Bruno Mars).
A dispute over a Bruno Mars song landed a man in jail this weekend after he got so angry during a debate over the tune that he took out a gun and pistol-whipped his life-long friend.
The argument broke out on Friday night after Roger D. Washburn, 71, and two of his friends started arguing over who sung a particular song, according to The Indianapolis Star.
While one of Washburn's friends claimed Bruno Mars was the singer in question, Washburn disagreed. After the friend was able to prove that the song was in fact sung by Bruno Mars, the argument (somehow) only escalated from there.
Police say Washburn proceeded to pull out a .38-caliber revolver and point it at his friend. The victim then allegedly responded by calling Washburn a "chickens--t," resulting in Washburn striking the man in the face and arm with the gun, according to WRTV.
Though the gun went off during the exchange, no one was hit by the bullet. The victim told police he "immediately swung" at Washburn after the first gunshot went off, but missed hitting him. The gun then went off a second time, according to a police report obtained by Oxygen.com.
The victim didn't report the incident to police for several hours because he was so shocked. He ultimately decided to contact authorities about the incident, however.
He reportedly had a "small gouge on his right cheek, blood on this pants, shirt and a red abrasion on his right forearm," the police report said.
A second friend who was also present at Washburn's home the night of the argument confirmed the victim's story for police, saying he felt something must be wrong with Washburn for him to get so heated over something seemingly so minor, WRTV reports.
Washburn later admitted to police that he hit his friend with the gun, the police report said. He was charged with battery with injury and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
He was taken to the Johnson County jail in Indiana. He has since been released from jail after posting bond, Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox told Oxygen.com.
The two men had reportedly known each other for 50 years at the time of the argument over the still-unnamed song.
[Photo: Johnson County Sheriff's Office]
