TROUTVILLE, Pa. (GANT) – A local man is in jail after he allegedly held his estranged wife and their daughter at gunpoint on Wednesday.
(This article was provided by our News Partner GantDaily.com.
William Troy Shugarts, 49, of Troutville is charged by Trooper Carol L. Strishock of the DuBois-based state police with criminal attempt-aggravated assault (two counts), burglary and terroristic threats, all felonies, and related offenses.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, troopers received a report about a Protection from Abuse order violation after Shugarts forced his way into a home in the 100 block of Main Street in Troutville. The PFA prohibited him from having any contact with the woman for any reason.
The victim said Shugarts forced her against the wall, then into a bedroom down the hall. While seated next to him on the bed, she said she felt a hard object along Shugarts’ side and there was an odor of alcohol emitting from his breath.
She said Shugarts stood up, and put a firearm to his head, causing her to have “deep concern” for the safety of her and her daughter. She said she believed Shugarts was going to shoot her but agreed to have a conversation with him to “deescalate” the situation, but only if he relinquished the firearm.
Even though he complied by laying the weapon down on the kitchen counter, the victim said she still had fear of losing her life and as though she couldn’t leave the residence under her own free will. State police also interviewed the woman’s daughter.
She said after she heard her mother screaming, she went upstairs to her bedroom. She said her father asked her to leave but she refused and when her mother lifted his shirt, she discovered he was in possession of a firearm.
She said when her father took it from his waistband, her mother ran out of the room. When he caught up to her mother, he allegedly grabbed her by the hair, putting the firearm to her head and then his own. She said after this, she stood at the bottom of the stairs in front of her mother.
She said her father asked to speak with her mother who agreed but only if he put the weapon down. She said Shugarts took it into the kitchen, left it there and gave the ammunition to her, but for purposes of protection, she reloaded the firearm while her parents talked and asked friends to call 911.
In an interview with state police, Shugarts said he went to his estranged wife’s home to say “goodbye.” He said he didn’t want to live anymore, and his intent was to end his life, not to harm his wife and daughter.
Shugarts was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Patrick Ford, denied bail and subsequently lodged in the Clearfield County Jail. He’s currently scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing before Ford on Oct. 2.
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