Most serious charge withdrawn against Redstone Township man
Prosecutors Monday withdrew the most serious charge filed against a Redstone Township man accused of firing a handgun at another man in early July.
State police Trooper Christian D. Lieberum said James Michael Hoddo, 47, of 1577 Front St. was charged before Magisterial District Judge Mike Defino Jr. on charges including aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
During a preliminary hearing Monday morning before Defino, prosecutors agreed to withdraw the aggravated assault charge and Hoddo subsequently waived the remaining charges against him to Fayette County Court.
Lieberum said the incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. July 7, when Brad Bolin, also of Redstone Township, attempted to return a rototiller that he had borrowed from Hoddo. Lieberum said that while Bolin was knocking on the door of a camper at Hoddo’s residence, he saw Hoddo pointing a handgun at him through a window inside the camper.
Lieberum said that Hoddo then fired a single round at Bolin through the windshield of the camper, causing Bolin to run into the woods for safety.
At that point, Hoddo’s mother, Mary Hoddo, came outside the camper and told Bolin that her son was just “playing games” and that Bolin was “OK.”
Lieberum said Bolin then came out of the woods and began to approach the camper a second time when James Hoddo fired another round through the windshield at him.
Bolin then fled the residence in his vehicle and called police.
According to Lieberum, police found two bullet holes in the windshield of the camper that corroborated Bolin’s account of the incident.
Additionally, police interviewed Mary Hoddo, who told officers that her son had “just been playing games” and also described her son as “an excellent marksman,” noting that if he had intended to shoot Bolin, he would have done it.