Grand jury issues indictment in Randolph shooting; woman found man in ditch
A grand jury has indicted a Randolph Township man in connection with an allegation he shot another man in the shoulder with a shotgun near the Portage County Fairgrounds.
More:Randolph man charged with felony assault following shooting at his home Tuesday
Kenneth D. Winters, 36, is charged with second-degree felony assault with a firearm specification in the indictment, which was filed in Portage County Court of Common Pleas on Thursday.
The Portage County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded after receiving a report of a man found bleeding in front of what was identified as Winters' Fairgrounds Road home, about three-quarters of a mile east of the fairgrounds, in the late afternoon of Aug. 16.
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During a 911 call lasting more than seven minutes, a woman told a dispatcher that she had been driving when she saw the man in a ditch by the side of the road.
"He's able to sit in the seat of my car, but he's bleeding in several places," said the woman, who then briefly gave the phone to the man.
"I just need an ambulance. Can you send the ambulance, please? I can't talk, it hurts," the man said.
As the dispatcher was contacting EMS to respond, the woman could be heard trying to comfort the man.
"So sorry that happened to you," she said. "Try to hang in. I think she's calling the local paramedics. They're very close."
The dispatcher told the woman that she contacted the Randolph Fire Department to send an ambulance and "they should be there shortly."
The woman said she did not know what happened to the man. She said the man was bleeding from his shoulder, but she thought there might be injuries to the man's torso because he was bent forward in pain.
"He can't tell me what happened," the woman said. "He keeps gasping. He's having a hard time. We really do need help."
The call ended when EMS arrived.
The sheriff's office said it got a search warrant and searched Winters' property, but he was not found. With the help of the Portage County SWAT team, Alliance and Ohio State Highway Patrol special response teams, and highway patrol air support, the woods around the property were searched and Winters was found later in the evening. He was booked into Portage County Jail at around 10:30 p.m.
Sheriff's Chief Deputy Ralph Spidalieri said Winters was found unarmed, but a shotgun found on his front porch is believed to have been used to shoot the man in the shoulder. No other injuries have been reported to the man.
Douglas Kehres, Winters' attorney, said during Winters' initial arraignment Aug. 17 in Portage County Municipal Court in Ravenna that Winters did not know the man when the man came onto his property. Municipal Court Judge Kevin Poland then set a $100,000 bond for Winters.
Information concerning an arraignment on the indictment was not immediately available on Friday.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Grand jury issues indictment in Randolph shooting
