A Cherokee County jury on Wednesday brought tears of joy to a Gaffney woman after clearing her of two charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

Sherri Gaffney, 45, of Victory Trail Road, was found not guilty on both offenses following about two and a half hours of deliberations by the eight men and four women on the panel.

Gaffney was accused of assaulting two people, her cousin Michelle Gaffney and Toby Sharpe, on May 7, 2005, when she fired a shotgun blast into the ground during a dispute. The shotgun pellets ricocheted and struck the two people, costing Michelle Gaffney an eye.

Sherri Gaffney's defense lawyer, Trent Pruett, maintained before the jury it never was Sherri Gaffney's intent to cause harm, only to get Michelle Gaffney to leave her property. "It was never her intent for anyone to be hurt," he told the panel.

Pruett said the testimony showed there had been some bad blood between Sherri and Michelle Gaffney in the past and that Michelle Gaffney, accompanied by Sharpe, had showed up uninvited at Sherri Gaffney's home on May 7, 2005.

An argument subsequently erupted and Michelle Gaffney was asked to leave. Instead of leaving, Pruett argued, Michelle Gaffney waited outside the gate to Sherri Gaffney's yard.

Later, after some words allegedly were directed at Sherri Gaffney's daughter, Pruett acknowledged Sherri Gaffney came out of her home with a shotgun and fired one warning shot to get her cousin to leave. A second shot fired into the ground was the one that ricocheted.

Pruett argued Sherri Gaffney had little experience with firearms and her cousin was roughly 70 feet away when struck. "There's no way, in her mind, she could have possibly shot anybody," he told the jury in maintaining there was no criminal intent to hurt anyone.

The prosecutor countered Pruett's arguments by likening the situation to a drunk driving case.

Even if a drunk driver has no intention of getting in a wreck and killing someone, that's still felony driving under influence, the prosecutor argued.

The prosecutor said, "(Sherri Gaffney) is responsible for the results because she pulled the trigger."

And whether she meant to hit Michelle Gaffney or not, the prosecutor claimed the physical evidence showed the shotgun blast hit the ground in front of where Michelle Gaffney and Sharpe were standing.

The prosecutor further claimed Sherri Gaffney could not claim self defense, arguing Michelle Gaffney and Toby Sharpe were outside her gate when the shot was fired.

Judge J. Derham Cole, who presided over the twoday trial in Cherokee County General Sessions Court, instructed the panel on legal issues such as defense of self, defense of others and defense of property before they deliberated.

The panel deliberated from about 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. before returning with not-guilty verdicts.