A Westminster man has been charged with assault and reckless endangerment after allegedly chasing minors riding all-terrain vehicles on his property with his truck and firing a handgun.
Dwight E. Baugher, 55, of 1000 block of Baugher Road is charged with three counts of reckless endangerment from a car, three counts of second-degree assault, and one count each of having a handgun in a car, having a loaded handgun in a vehicle, having a handgun on his person and first-degree assault, according to electronic court records. All the charges are misdemeanors, with the exception of the first-degree assault charge, which is a felony.
About 9:18 p.m. Wednesday, a Carroll County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the 1300 block of S. Pleasant Valley Road for a report of a “mini bike complaint,” according to charging documents. Dispatch had informed the deputy that Baugher had made the call to police and had allegedly told the operator he had chased multiple “four-wheelers” from his orchards — Baugher owns Baugher’s Orchards and Farms in Westminster — and fired a handgun at them.
The ATV riders left the orchard and fled south along South Pleasant Valley Road, according to the account Baugher told the deputy in the charging documents, claiming to have fired another three handgun rounds into the air from his truck when he closed the distance to one of the riders to about 30 feet.
In the charging documents, the deputy alleges that Baugher told him in an excited manner that, “I did a PIT maneuver to stop one of them from getting away from me. I haven’t checked the front bumper on my truck yet, but I don’t care if it has a dent, I wanted to get as close as possible,” Baugher allegedly said. He further said that, “I want people to think I’m crazy around here. If people think I’m crazy, then they won’t ride on my property.” A PIT maneuver, or pursuit intervention technique, can be used to force another vehicle to turn abruptly and often stop.
The minor whom Baugher allegedly cut off and who was on the scene when the deputy arrived offered a written statement that is quoted in the charging documents:
“I pulled over because I was scared he was gonna kill me and when I stopped, he got out and threatened to kill me if I ran and would not let me call my parents until the cops got here,” the statement read. “When he hung up the phone with the cops after they told him to unload the gun, he said to me, ‘don’t worry, I still have a rifle if you try to run.’ ”
