Jackson House Inn
By Katy Savage
Innkeepers are being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment after attacking and threatening guests of a wedding party with a knife and gun.
Police said Jeffrey McClain, the innkeeper of the Jackson House Inn, pointed a gun at a guest’s neck while his wife Robin McClain attacked guests for recording the incident with their phones.
Police said was carrying three knives — two pocketknives and a long stiff knife — and a loaded 9 mm pistol as he stood in the driveway of the inn on Senior Lane when police arrived around 8 p.m. Oct. 11.
Police said guests James Revene, his wife Amy Revene and their son William were part of a wedding party that rented seven of the 14 rooms at the Jackson House Inn.
An argument between the Revenes and McClains started over where the Revenes parked their car.
The Revenes went out to dinner on Oct. 11. When they returned, Jeffrey and Robin McClain were outside, asking the Revenes to move their vehicles.
James Revene refused and said Jeffrey McClain then abruptly held a pistol at his neck.
James Revene stated that he first thought that Jeffrey McClain was grabbing for his neck but then felt the cold of its barrel pressed against him. James Revene grabbed for the gun and in doing so grabbed what he believed was the barrel of the firearm and cut himself on it as he pushed it away.
“I observed that his hand was bloody and had an open wound on the webbing between the thumb and index finger,” Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson said in an affidavit.
Revene told police he thought McClain was “going to kill me, so the pain (from the finger injury) didn’t register.’”
Meanwhile, Jeffrey McClain’s version of events claimed James Revene grabbed the gun from his holster.
“I took this to mean that he pressed the gun to James Revene’s neck after Revene grabbed the gun,” Swanson said.
The Revene’s son William told police there was no escalation or swearing at the time and that Jeffreypulled the gun.
“William also stated that he felt that Jeffrey had a plan to kill them before they got there,” Swanson said. “William also stated that Robin was attacking others and William tried to create distance between Robin and other guests.”
William said Robin McClain punched him in the face when she noticed the Revenes were filming the altercation.
Robin told police the Revenes yelled, “‘F*ck you, we are going to call the police,’ and they all whip out their cameras, right, so I start attacking their cameras.’
“This big fat son comes up and does the whole thing and he’s like starting to push people around,” Robin told police, according to the affidavit. “l’m like no, I’m 66 and l have cancer.”
Robin McClain started grabbing at the phones and struck William Revene in the face “with what he described as a ‘closed fist,’” Swanson wrote.
William also told police Robin removed his shirt and pulled on his pants but they stayed up because he was wearing suspenders. He went to the ground and scraped his knees through his pants.
Robin admitted they had a gun. “We have a property to protect,” Robin said, according to police.
Robin said earlier the Revenes told them they had guns.
Robin was charged with simple assault and cited and released. Jeffery McClain was transported to Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield. He was released with conditions on Oct. 12. He was ordered to not buy or use firearms or dangerous weapons, to not contact James, William or Amy Revene and to stay 300 feet away from James and William Revene.
McClain is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 31. If found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, he could be imprisoned up to five years or fined up to $5,000 or both. If found guilty of reckless endangerment, he could be fined $1,000 or spend up to a year in jail or both.
