GRAFTON, W.Va. - Police say a Northern West Virginia man tried to hit an officer with his vehicle and his weapon discharged in an ensuing struggle.
News outlets reported that Rollie C. Poynter Jr., 50, of Grafton, was charged Sunday with multiple offenses that include attempted murder and malicious assault on a governmental representative.
According to a criminal complaint, Poynter fled when Grafton police tried to stop him. He drove along U.S. Route 119 in Taylor and Monongalia counties and eventually stopped on a private road, attempting to strike an approaching Taylor County sheriff's deputy with his vehicle.
Poynter got out, began fighting with deputies and pulled out a weapon, police said. The gun went off but no one was hit, they said.
Poynter is being held on $2 million bail at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
- The Associated Press