Will alleged shooter’s insurance cover wounded teen’s injury claim? Judge may decide.

An insurance company is asking a judge to weigh in on whether a policy held by a Macon woman accused of shooting an alleged rock-throwing teenager should provide coverage for a claim filed by the boy’s family.

Elizabeth Cannon, 47, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated battery stemming from the Jan. 16 shooting outside her Bloomfield Drive home.

She is being held at the Bibb County jail.

Bridget Marcus, the mother of 15-year-old Vernon Marcus Jr., spoke during an April bond hearing for Cannon. She said her son was shot in the head and is unable to speak. He is paralyzed on his right side.

Marcus and his mother have filed a claim for damages stemming from his injuries, according to a complaint for declaratory judgment filed Wednesday by Country Mutual Insurance Co.

Although Cannon’s homeowner’s insurance policy provides $300,000 in liability coverage, the policy contains certain exclusions.

The insurer contends that coverage for paying the Marcus family is excluded because Cannon intentionally fired on the boys in her yard, according to the complaint.

Coverage also is excluded because Cannon allegedly committed a crime by shooting at the boys, the complaint says.

“Country Mutual is in a position of uncertainty and insecurity with respect to its rights, status and other legal relations” with Cannon and the Marcus family, according to the complaint.

The insurer has asked a Bibb County Superior Court judge to declare that it has no coverage obligations for claims alleged by Marcus and his mother against Cannon.

Country Mutual also is seeking a judgment declaring that the company has no duty to defend Cannon if the Marcus family files a lawsuit against her.

An attorney representing Cannon at the April hearing said a group of teens came into her yard about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16, yelled racial epithets at her, threatened her and threw rocks at her house.

Having called 911 numerous times before to report trespassing and other problems with teens, she fired about five shots, intending to shoot at the ground, the lawyer said.

Cannon called 911 after the shooting, and while she was running down the sidewalk to see where the group had gone, she spotted Marcus injured on the ground.

Days after the shooting, Cannon said she and her husband had been terrorized by a group of rock-throwing teens for a week and that they had felt threatened.

Authorities have said Marcus was shot in the back of the head about 30 feet from Cannon’s driveway, 150 feet from her house.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Will alleged shooter’s insurance cover wounded teen’s injury claim? Judge may decide.."