Pike Twp. man convicted of assault for shots fired at summer yard sale

Shots also were fired at law enforcement responding to neighbor’s call.

Credit: Jessica Orozco

Credit: Jessica Orozco

A Pike Twp. man was convicted last week of three counts of felonious assault for shooting a high-powered rifle at his neighbors’ property in the 7000 block of Ballentine Pike, and at two police officers.

Danny Jeffers, 70, was arrested on Aug. 4 after shooting targets near his neighbors’ yard sale and hitting their barn when one of the property owners was nearby. Shots were also fired at the property owner, German Twp. Police Chief Mike Stitzel and Clark County Deputy Douglas Peterson, causing all three men to take cover.

Around 10:15 a.m., police were called while property owner Amy James and about 20 people sheltered in a barn on the property as gunshots were ongoing, she said in August. When the shots appeared to be finished, she said her husband went out with police to show the damage to the barn he observed when the neighbor began shooting while he was there.

James said the neighbor often shoots guns whenever the family is holding a yard sale, which is frequent. James and her husband buy storage facilities to sell their contents.

Bullets struck a new storage barn at the back of the James’ property, leaving holes in the walls and roof, and through tarps covering bales of hay. The barn contains treasured items, she said, including two model barns that James’ grandparents made for her. These were inches from a bullet hole.

The gun was an AR-15 short-barreled rifle, according to court records.

According to court records, when police arrived, a woman got Jeffers to come out of his house to speak with them, but when they and one of the property owners were evaluating damage, they “started taking rapid fire.” They took cover then retreated to the property’s main barn when the shooting stopped.

Jeffers had left but was arrested after returning home.

His next hearing is scheduled for April 23.

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