Fayette judge denies Hopwood man’s request to dismiss aggravated assault charge
A Fayette County judge determined there is enough evidence to charge a Hopwood man who was shot by police after he allegedly advanced on a trooper while holding a saw blade.
Judge Nancy Vernon indicated she reviewed preliminary hearing transcripts and dash-cam video from police vehicles in the criminal case brought against Kenneth Dwayne Shaffer Jr., 29, and found enough evidence to deny a motion from Shaffer’s attorney to drop the aggravated assault charges against him.
On June 17, police responded to the area of 13 Hopwood-Fairchance Road after a 911 caller reported a suspicious man carrying a large knife and acting strangely around 4 p.m.
Police saw Shaffer walking briskly in the 400 block of the road while allegedly holding a 5- to 6-inch reciprocating saw blade. A trooper told Shaffer to stop, but Shaffer allegedly ignored police instructions and changed course walking toward the trooper, telling him, “Shoot me.”
Vernon found the video showed the trooper backing up, repeating his commands to stop. She noted that Shaffer continued at a rapid pace toward the trooper, who responded by firing one shot into Shaffer’s chest.
The judge found that for prosecutors to sustain their burden for an aggravated assault charge, the trooper didn’t need to actually suffer serious bodily injury, they only needed to establish that Shaffer attempted to cause serious bodily injury through his actions.
In advancing toward the trooper, Shaffer “took a significant and substantial step toward inflicting serious bodily injury on the officer,” Vernon wrote, adding that it caused the trooper to fear he was going to be injured.
She added those same actions by Shaffer were also evidence enough to show he resisted arrest, and denied the motion to dismiss that charge as well.
Shaffer was treated on the scene by state police before EMS arrived, then flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. He was released from the hospital five days later and incarcerated at Fayette County Prison on $200,000 bail.