After drinking from as many as five bottles of wine, a Black Hawk alderman pistol-whipped his wife, who is the city manager of Central City, and threatened to kill her and her brother, according to court records.
David Dee Spellman, 41, was charged Tuesday in Gilpin County District Court with felony menacing with a gun and misdemeanor domestic violence after an incident Sunday involving Lynnette Hailey. Spellman was being held on $25,000 bail.
According to the arrest-warrant affidavit, Hailey needed four staples in two cuts on her head. She also had a bruise on her neck and severe bruising on her right hip.
Following an argument late Sunday at Hailey’s home at 2071 Bald Mountain Road, Spellman, court records say, fired several gunshots and searched for Hailey and her brother, Michael Hailey, yelling, “Mike, I am coming for you, and you are dead.”
He also, authorities said, went outside on the roof and yelled, “You are mine, and I am going to kill you.”
Lynnette and Michael Hailey ran from room to room hiding from Spellman, and one of them called authorities, the affidavit said. The brother told authorities he was afraid for his life.
According to Michael Hailey, the three drank three to five bottles of wine that night. Michael Hailey awoke about 10:30 p.m. to loud voices. His sister told him she and Spellman had an argument.
About an hour later, Lynnette Hailey opened her bedroom door, which Spellman had blocked. That’s when someone struck her in the head from behind and she fell to the floor, authorities said.
She looked up and saw Spellman, who hit her two more times with a .38-caliber pistol when she tried to stand up, according to the police report.
Called to the home, sheriff’s Deputy Stace Williams spotted Spellman on the roof of the house carrying a pistol, the report said. He agreed to toss his gun to the ground.
Spellman reeked of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and had bloodshot and watery eyes, according to the report. Spellman was arrested just before midnight Sunday.
Deputies found three bullets missing from his gun and discovered three bullet holes in the house.
Spellman has been an alderman in Black Hawk, about 35 miles west of Denver, since 1993. As an alderman, Spellman is one of seven elected officials in Black Hawk.
In May 2004, The Denver Post reported that since 1994, Spellman and his businesses had received about $1.5 million in Black Hawk historic preservation money to pay for remodeling of several of his homes and in payment for property he or his businesses owned. Spellman recused himself from voting on the deals.
This May, the town approved $374,000 worth of improvements to a home owned by Spellman, according to city records. Spellman abstained from voting on the project, which will be completed next year.
Hailey was the city manager of Black Hawk while Spellman was an alderman. The board of aldermen voted to give her a severance settlement of $418,000 in 1999. She later was hired as the city manager of Central City.
Black Hawk City Manager Rich ard Lessner said Tuesday that he had not spoken with Spellman about what happened.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
