Charges were filed Monday against Roger Welch, 53, rural Moran, and Zeffrey Tyler Doolittle, 17, Mapleton, who suffered minor back wounds when he was hit by pellets from a shotgun blast allegedly fired by Welch.
Welch was charged with aggravated battery, a level 7 felony. Doolittle was charged with attempted theft and criminal trespassing.
The incident in which Doolittle suffered the shotgun pellet wounds unfolded the night of Dec. 23 on Welch’s land, about five miles northwest of Bronson.
Allen County officers said gasoline previously had been stolen from a tank on the Welch property and that Welch was there when a vehicle stopped nearby. They said Doolittle crossed a fence, was carrying a five-gallon can and had taken down a hose attached to the tank when Welch fired a shot from his 12-gauge shotgun, apparently into the air.
Doolittle ran from the tank, officers said, and Welch fired a second shot, striking him in the back. Doolittle ran on to the county road, where his vehicle was parked, but didn’t get in it.
Allen County officers found Doolittle about 20 minutes
later walking along a road. An ambulance took him to Allen County Hospital, where his wounds were described as minor.
Allen County Attorney Wade Bowie filed charges after taking several days to review reports and discuss the case with investigators.
“I wanted to be careful and take into consideration” information about the incident, a process that included conversations with other attorneys.
Neither Welch nor Doolittle was arrested, rather both will be summoned to court appearances that have yet to be scheduled.
