KELSEYVILLE – A woman was hospitalized Friday night after authorities say her estranged husband shot her in self-defense as she was breaking into their home carrying a pick ax.

Margaret Johnson, 56, is reported to be in stable but critical condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Chief Deputy James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Saturday.

Bauman said sheriff's deputies and the Kelseyville Fire District responded to the report of a shooting at the home of 75-year-old Dr. Don Johnson on Highway 29 at about 9:40 p.m. Friday night.

Arriving on scene, the deputies and emergency personnel found Margaret Johnson had been wounded by a single gunshot to the neck, according to Bauman. She was transported from the scene by ambulance and later flown to Santa Rosa for medical treatment.

On Friday afternoon, Margaret Johnson had reportedly been served with a restraining order by her husband, which he told deputies was the result of their ongoing marital troubles, Bauman reported.

The restraining order, Bauman added, had required that Margaret Johnson vacate the residence Friday.

Don Johnson – a dentist with a Lakeport practice – told deputies that he had already gone to bed for the night when, at some point after 9 p.m., a woman screaming outside of the house awakened him, said Bauman.

Bauman said Johnson told officials he took his handgun – which he kept near the bed – and began placing a call to the sheriff's office when he heard the sound of glass breaking near the back door.

Johnson then dropped the phone, according to Bauman's report, and went to the back of the house, where he saw his wife allegedly entering the house carrying a pick ax.

He then fired one shot, striking Margaret Johnson in the neck. Bauman said she fell to the floor into the broken glass from forced entry, and Don Johnson ran back to call 911.

Bauman said sheriff's detectives were called to the scene to assist in conducting a preliminary investigation.

Based on the evidence at the scene, which pointed to Don Johnson acting in defense of his life, deputies did not take him into custody, said Bauman.

Margaret Johnson, however, could face criminal charges, which are pending based on the investigation's outcome, Bauman reported.

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