WAYNESBURG - A preliminary hearing for a Franklin Township man charged with shooting a man who refused to leave his home will be held next month.
Samuel William Boyd, 63, of 440 Rolling Meadows Road, has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and one count each of simple assault and disorderly conduct.
His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 23 before District Judge Lee Watson in Carmichaels. At a preliminary hearing, the prosecution tries to present enough evidence to force the defendant to stand trial.
On May 3, Boyd allegedly shot William Henry Durbin, 39, of 407 Cedar Wood Drive, Carmichaels, during an argument at Boyd's home. State police also arrested Durbin and charged him with terroristic threats, criminal trespass, simple assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.
Durbin apparently visited Boyd's home to make a payment on a mobile home he had purchased from Boyd. Police believe he had been drinking. An argument ensued and escalated to a fight. Boyd threw Durbin out of his home, and Durbin hurt his hip and leg in a fall from the front porch.
Boyd and others in his home called 911 several times because Durbin failed to leave. Boyd then retrieved a .22-caliber revolver and went out on the porch. Durbin grabbed a metal lighthouse ornament from a rock garden near the sidewalk and hit Boyd with it on the arm and wrist before throwing the ornament at Boyd.
As Durbin walked toward the garage, police said, Boyd shot him in the lower right back. Boyd then called 911 and reported he had shot Durbin in the back.
Durbin was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital, Morgantown, W.Va., for treatment of a gunshot wound to the liver. He is recovering from his injuries, police said.
Police said Boyd later told them he had shot Durbin after Durbin bent over to pick up a rock along the sidewalk that he believed Durbin was going to use to harm him. He also told police he was trying to shoot Durbin in the leg.
Durbin told police he had hit Boyd with the ornament because Boyd had a gun. He also said he was walking toward a vehicle in the driveway to leave when Boyd shot him in the back.