George Pritchett, 26, of Lima, has been deemed competent to stand trial for threatening another man with a shotgun earlier this year. Pritchett is charged with felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon and having weapons under disabililty. A jury trial is scheduled for July 18.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — A man who police say produced a shotgun from his sleeve and threatened a Lima man who attempted to force him off a property upon which he was trespassing has been found competent to stand trial.
Following a psychological evaluation by Dr. Carla Dreyer of the Psychological Center of Western Ohio in Dayton, George Pritchett has been ruled competent to answer to charges of felonious assault, a second-degree felony; having weapons under disability, a felony of the third degree; and carrying a concealed weapon, a fourth-degree felony.
Pritchett, 26, who is listed as homeless in court documents, was indicted by a grand jury in April.
According to court documents, Lima police were dispatched on Feb. 19 of this year to the 800 block of North Main Street in reference to an assault. Upon their arrival, officers spoke with the resident of the home, William Carpenter, who said he observed an unknown black male enter a vacant residence at 831 N. Metcalf St.
Carpenter said he told the man, later identified as Pritchett, that he knew the owner of the home and that no one was permitted on the property. Pritchett reportedly said he had been working on the abandoned house and was authorized to be there, but Carpenter told police that was likely not true.
According to a probable cause affidavit, when Carpenter told Pritchett to leave the property Pritchett pulled a shotgun from his sleeve and pointed it at Carpenter. He then struck Carpenter with the butt of the gun, causing the victim to fall off the porch of the residence.
By the time police arrived Pritchett had fled. Police an hour later apprehended him at Superior Court Apartments. A shotgun was leaning against the front steps of the dwelling.
The 12-gauge shotgun, believed to be stolen, had a live 16-gauge shell in the chamber. The investigating officer said it is possible that the gun’s trigger was pulled when Pritchett pointed it at Carpenter but that the gun misfired due to the incorrect shell being placed in the chamber.
Pritchett admitted to police that he was the man who was involved in an altercation with Carpenter at the North Main Street residence, court documents show.
During a brief hearing Tuesday in Allen County Common Pleas Court Prosecuting Attorney Destiny Caldwell offered a proposed resolution to the case that called for Pritchett to plead guilty to the felonious assault and concealed weapons charges. That offer will remain open until a July 10 pre-trial hearing.
A jury trial is set for July 18.
