Jul 7, 2015 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – District Judge Louis Dayich issued a stern warning to the man who’s accused of entering a Springhill Township house last month to confront the resident, who reacted by shooting him.

Dayich expressed “great concerns” during Tuesday morning’s preliminary hearing about future confrontations between Jimmy Spencer and the man who shot him, along with their families, and told them to not have any contact with each other.

He held Spencer, 53, of New Freeport, for court on charges of burglary, aggravated assault, witness retaliation and simple assault during the hearing nearly a month-to-the-day after the June 8 shooting.

David Riley, who shot Spencer in his Morford Road residence, was the only witness called to testify during the hearing. He said Spencer arrived at his home and picked up a “spud bar” lying in the yard, using it to break through a door. Riley said Spencer then confronted him, before swinging the bar and hitting Riley near his eye. Riley then fired his handgun, striking Spencer once in abdomen.

Investigators said Riley’s use of force is legal under the state’s Castle Doctrine law that allows homeowners to protect themselves and their property from intruders.

Spencer spent two weeks recovering at a Morgantown, W.Va., hospital, which delayed the preliminary arraignment in which Dayich set his unsecured bond at $25,000, meaning he was not required to put any money down for bail.

His lawyer, Josh Camson, asked for the bail to remain unsecured so Spencer could continue receiving medical treatment for the gunshot wound to his abdomen.

However, Dayich and the investigating officer, state police Trooper Daniel Barnhart, raised concerns during the hearing about previous feuds between the two families. He also addressed relatives seated in the courtroom, saying future conflicts would not be tolerated.

“I’m going to remind you to closely follow all the rules of bail,” Dayich said.

Dayich suggested home monitoring might be helpful, but added there is no mechanism for that term of his bail at the magisterial court level. Spencer and Riley, along with their supporters, left the courtroom separately.

“He’s concerned,” Barnhart said of Riley. “He feels like it happened once, so it could happen again. Mr. Riley knows he can contact state police if he has any future problems.”

The feud apparently stems from Riley serving as a witness against Spencer’s son, Samuel Spencer, who entered an “Alford plea” to homicide charges earlier this year in Wetzel County, W.Va. Samuel Spencer was prosecuted in connection with the deaths of three people in that county in January 2014, and is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence.

“That’s when he started reporting more problems,” Barnhart said.

Spencer’s lawyer, Josh Camson, denied the retaliation accusation and asked Dayich to dismiss that charge.

“I don’t think there’s any evidence to it,” Camson said of retaliation. “I think it’s unrelated to that … if (the incident) happened that way at all.”

Camson added that the two families have a long-standing feud and that his client has made accusations against Riley in the past.

“There’s some kind of family thing going on here,” Camson said. “But I don’t think there’s a risk of any further action, and that’s a condition of his bail.”