WEST UNION, W.Va. — A man has been charged after shooting Doddridge County law enforcement.
On May 5, soldiers from the West Virginia State Police’s Doddridge County Detachment received a complaint of brandishing at a residence on Big Isaac Road in Salem, according to a news release sent by state police. ‘State.
Troopers were told that 44-year-old Richard America ‘wielded an AR-15 rifle’ at two people earlier that afternoon, and troopers obtained a search warrant for that residence as America was a person prohibited from possessing firearms, the soldiers said.
That evening, troopers, alongside deputies from the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department, arrived at the residence and found America, who “opened fire on the officers as they approached the residence at the top of the hill,” the statement read.
Troopers requested reinforcement from the State Police Special Response Team, as well as units from the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and Western Union Police; Taylor County deputies were still at the scene at the time, soldiers said.
America “has finally surrendered,” the statement said. He was charged with two counts of wanton endangerment and six counts of attempted murder. He is being held at the Center-North Regional Prison.
