Man shot by deputy in Liberty Twp. indicted for felonious assault
May 15—A Liberty Twp. man shot in the shoulder by a Butler County Sheriff's deputy on May 4 is facing criminal charges for the incident that happened after he allegedly broke into an apartment complex clubhouse.
James Lawrence Huff, 46, was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday for felonious assault ln a police officer with a gun specification, a first-degree felony, and vandalism, a fifth-degree felony.
Huff was booked into the county jail on Friday after a hospital stay. He is scheduled to be arraigned this week in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
Family members called dispatchers about 11:10 a.m. concerned about the welfare of Huff, who was hallucinating while going through alcohol withdrawal, according to 911 calls placed by his son and sister.
Huff's son told dispatchers his father had made some threats and left the residence. Huff's sister said he had a loaded handgun and had been waving it around that morning.
Deputies were sent to the 400 block of Hampton Place Drive to conduct a welfare check. They found blood.
At 11:20 a.m. a maintenance employee at Springs of Liberty Township Apartments reported a burglary at the clubhouse.
"Someone just broke into the clubhouse. They shattered the window," the 911 caller said. "There is blood everywhere. It looks like he is carrying knives around."
He said the break-in happened about 10:50 a.m. at the Liberty West Drive location. The employee was able to provide a description of the suspect while watching the security video.
About 11:42 a.m. a witness reported seeing a male lying in the wood line across from the apartments, covered with blood and believed to be armed with a knife.
Three deputies responding spotted Huff, who had a pistol, according to the sheriff's report.
According to the preliminary investigation by the sheriff's office, Huff was urged multiple times to put down the weapon, but began to raise the weapon toward the officers. Deputy Arlen Johnson fired multiple shots, hitting Huff once, according to Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer.
Huff also allegedly fire a round during the incident. No one else was injured.
Per standard procedure, Johnson was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Dwyer said Wednesday has returned to active duty following the investigation.
The investigation results will also be presented to grand jury for consideration, per the policy of Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser in all officer-involved shootings.
