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Charges filed in wildlife shooting incident

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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer Updated 1:12 PM Monday, November 23, 2009

URBANA — Three men have been charged in connection to an Oct. 30 incident in which they are accused of firing a shot at wildlife officers who were on patrol in Champaign County.

The charges were filed against:

• Todd M. Noel, 34, of 3875 U.S. 36, Urbana, on charges of improperly discharging a firearm in a motor vehicle, hunting without permission, prohibiting injuring persons or property while hunting and prohibiting jacklighting.

• Jesse W. Coffey, 37, of 124 E. Plum St., St. Paris, on charges of complicity to improperly discharging a firearm in a motor vehicle, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, hunting without permission, and prohibiting jacklighting.

• Jacob E. Shepherd, 18, of 202 Southern Blvd., Somerset, Ky., on charges of complicity to improperly discharging a firearm in a motor vehicle, hunting without permission, and complicity to prohibiting jacklighting.

According to authorities, the men were initially taken into custody for investigative purposes, but were not formally arrested, after the shooting near Ford Road and Woodville Pike in Champaign County. State Wildlife officers Jeffery Tipton and Adam Smith were on patrol in the area looking for poachers when a vehicle pulled into a field and directed its headlights at the ODNR cruiser. A bullet passes through the cruiser’s windshield, but no one was injured.

According to information from Champaign Municipal Court, Noel’s arraignment was continued until 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1. Coffey and Shepherd will face preliminary hearings on Dec. 3. The men were released on conditions that they surrender their hunting licences and firearms to authorities and follow an imposed curfew. They are also not allowed to hunt.

“Once the analysis was completed, the decision was made to arrest the three men, charge them and take them into custody,” said Champaign County Prosecutor Nick Selvaggio. “The gravity of the incident and the upcoming scheduling of deer gun season were factors in our decision-making.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.

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