Man admits battery against wife

A Minden man pleaded guilty Wednesday to battery that constitutes domestic violence, admitting that he restrained his wife to keep her indoors after a day when both were drinking tequila.

Charles Patrick Tierney, 59, originally charged with felony domestic violence, pleaded guilty to an amended misdemeanor complaint.

He told East Fork Justice Pro Tem Paul Gilbert that he and the victim had been drinking tequila for "six or seven hours" on Jan. 3.

"As we were both getting drunker, my wife tried to get out the front door," Tierney said. "She was yelling at me and was wearing her pajamas. It was 3-3:30 in the afternoon and I wouldn't let her out."

Tierney said he was trying to get her to lie down in their bedroom.

"Once she lays down and takes a nap, she's OK," Tierney said.

According to reports, officers were called to the couple's house across from Minden Park by a woman walking her dog that afternoon who heard the victim screaming, "Call the cops. You're strangling me."

At a hearing in January, the woman told the court she wasn't afraid of her husband and wanted him home.

The victim retired from Nevada Parole and Probation and Tierney retired from the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Prosecutor Laurie Trotter said Wednesday evidence would show that Tierney placed his wife in a chokehold, lay on top of her and put her in fear for her life.

Tierney's lawyer Tod Young said his client disputed the allegation.

At an earlier court appearance, Young said the victim had suffered a serious head injury a few years ago that left her disabled. He said her disability was exacerbated when she'd been drinking alcohol.

Gilbert set sentencing for March 24.