Man charged with shooting at deputies denied bail; 23 spent casings, 26 firearms recovered
A Halfway-area man charged with directing a rapid-fire hail of bullets at deputies responding to a 911 hangup call from his home late Friday night was ordered Monday to continue to be held without bail, according to Washington County District Court records.
Gerald Wayne Koogle Jr., 42, appeared dressed in a green smock via video from the Washington County Detention Center for a brief bail review hearing in district court.
Judge Mark D. Thomas told Assistant State's Attorney Holland Burch that he had read the charging documents, so she wouldn't have to go over what she then described as the "chilling" facts of the case.
She asked the judge to order Koogle to continue to be held without bail, saying he was a danger to himself and others.
"The statement of charges speaks for itself," she said, noting that a neighbor's home was pierced by gunfire.
"The situation could have been been so much worse," she said.
As Public Defender Eric Reed began explaining that Koogle had surrendered to police, Thomas cut him off and said that Koogle clearly should be held without bail as a matter of public safety.
After the hearing ended, Burch told a reporter that, "we as the state are thankful that the officers were able to go home to their families that night."
Earlier: Customer's car hit by stray gunfire at Sheetz on East Washington Street, police say
In West Virginia: Two shot at W.Va. convenience store; man charged with two counts of attempted murder
Police recovered 23 spent shell casings at the scene, and the neighbor who awoke to bullets piercing her home had to take cover behind her refrigerator. She was unhurt, but "very scared," the charging document filed against Koogle states.
Koogle is charged with three counts each of attempted first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault on three Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies. He is also charged with reckless endangerment, malicious destruction of property valued at more than $1,000 and a weapons violation, court records show.
When did the shooting start?
The incident began when the Washington County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call just before midnight from Koogle's home in the 16900 block of Longfellow Court. A female could be heard saying that a male was threatening her before the call cut off, the charging document states.
After Deputy 1st. Class Phillip Schnurr, Deputy Tyler Repp and Master Deputy Kyle Snodderly arrived at the mobile home, Schnurr and Repp knocked on the front door, but got no response. As Schnurr walked around to a side door he could hear a male shouting and cursing, and as he knocked on that door with the other two deputies nearby the same voice said, "get the (expletive) out of here," and "I've got something for you (expletive)," the document states.
Repp heard the voice say, "bring it on (expletive), bring it on," according to the document.
After deputies knocked on a window and told the male to be quiet and open the door, shots came through the window toward them and the neighbor's house, the document states.
"These shots were rapid and it was clearly semi-automatic gunfire," the document states.
The shots missed the deputies, who took cover as Schnurr called, "shots fired" over the radio. They covered the residence from a distance while other deputies responded to help, according to the document.
A woman who was able to exit Koogle's residence said she needed help, but she did not appear to be shot or badly injured and was taken to a safe location. She gave police a description of Koogle, who could be seen pacing around inside, the document states.
After a while, police were able to communicate with Koogle by cellphone, and his father and his father's girlfriend were also able to leave the residence. Koogle surrendered a short time later, the document states.
The neighbor said she was awakened by the sound of rapid gunfire and objects breaking in her house. When she realized someone was shooting at her house she called 911, and shouted to deputies at the scene that her house had been hit. She then "sat behind her refrigerator in her kitchen for cover until the situation was safe," the document states.
When police searched Koogle's residence, they found 23 spent 300 blackout caliber shell casings on the floor under his bedroom window. They recovered 26 firearms including an unregistered AR-15-style rifle with an 8-inch barrel, according to the document.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Judge denies bail for Halfway man charged with shooting at deputies
