Gwinnett Daily Post

Special Photo Timothy Amstutz, left, was recently extradited to Gwinnett County where he will face charges of aggravated assault for allegedly shooting former Army buddy Carmon McCurrie, right, in the head earlier this month.

LAWRENCEVILLE -- The man accused of shooting a longtime Army buddy as he played video games in his Suwanee home is now in Gwinnett County custody, where he has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault.

Timothy Franklin Amstutz, 47, was arrested in Surry County, N.C., on Dec. 16 as officials believe he was attempting to flee to his father's home in Virginia. Gwinnett County Jail records show he was taken into custody there at about 2 a.m. Friday.

Amstutz is charged with shooting friend Carmon McCurrie just before 11 p.m. on Dec. 15, allegedly taking aim from the front porch of McCurrie's Grand Park Drive home and firing through a window.

McCurrie sustained a spiderweb fracture in his skull and had to have reconstructive surgery on his nose and right ear, as well as shrapnel extracted from his right knee. Doctors told him the headphones he was wearing while playing video games may have saved his life.

A medically discharged U.S. Army sergeant, the victim had already been slowly recovering from severe injuries he sustained from a mortar-round attack while deployed in Iraq. He told the Daily Post last week that he had considered Amstutz a friend.

"We used to call and talk to each other two and three times a week," McCurrie said. "He'd come down for my birthday. We rode motorcycles and stuff."

The shooting befuddled McCurrie, but Suwanee investigators believe it may have been fueled by an argument McCurrie had with Amstutz' wife about three weeks prior.

Jail records show Amstutz is being held in Gwinnett without bond.