UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Batavia man is facing both misdemeanor and felony charges after Union Township police said he fired shots from inside a vehicle following a report of suspicious people on his property.
According to complaints filed in Clermont County Municipal Court, Brandon A. Truman, 31, was charged with improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony, and using weapons while intoxicated, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Police say officers were dispatched around 2 a.m. April 21 to Truman’s address on Shephard Road after he reported two people on his property and said he had armed himself with a rifle.
The report was later determined to be unfounded, according to affidavits filed in the case.
As officers were returning to their cruisers, they reported hearing two gunshots from Truman’s location. Court records state the felony charge stems from allegations Truman discharged a firearm while in or on a motor vehicle.
When officers returned, investigators found a rifle inside a vehicle with a loaded magazine inserted and the safety off, according to court records. Police also reported finding two shell casings, a hole in the floorboard, and a bullet mark in the concrete where the vehicle had been parked. The magazine contained 25 live rounds, the affidavits state.
A consent search also allegedly turned up a glass pipe in Truman’s pocket, and police said he admitted smoking crack cocaine earlier in the day.
Court records show Truman entered a not guilty plea in the misdemeanor case during a bond hearing April 21.
A preliminary hearing in the felony case and a plea or trial setting in the misdemeanor case are both scheduled for May 1.
