A man who was formerly charged with shooting his girlfriend in the rectum will have to stay in jail until he faces federal gun charges.
Magistate Bill Carter on Wednesday afternoon said he found that Montgomery Hilton Garner is a flight risk as well as a danger to the community.
Garner spent three and a half years in jail awaiting trial in the Oct. 26, 2003, incident in which Roxanne Arrowsmith was shot in the rectum. She survived, but has undergone numerous surgeries.
An appeals court threw out the case on a technicality. Garner had one night of freedom before he was picked up on a charge relating to the use of the weapon. His attorney, Mary Ellen Coleman, said Garner spent that night with friends in North Georgia.
He could get up to 10 years on the federal charge.
ATF Task Force Officer David Ashley testified that Garner and the girlfriend first said the shooting was accidental.
He said Ms. Arrowsmith later said Garner was upset and he grabbed her by the legs, pulled them apart, put the gun's barrel in her rectum and pulled the trigger.
Garner later said he crawled in bed with Ms. Arrowsmith, cuddled up to her and the gun went off in her rectum.
Prosecutor Chris Poole said Garner's record of convictions includes four DUIs, a failure to appear, carrying a weapon, escape and assaults.
Ms. Coleman said he is a lifelong Chattanooga resident and has two brothers and a sister here. She said he could go to work at his brother's painting firm.