WASHINGTON COUNTY (KFSM) — A West Fork man is facing several charges after he allegedly shot his friend whom he had mistaken for a robber.
Steven Armantrout, 49, is facing charges of second degree battery, second degree criminal mischief, and aggravated assault, according to arrest documents.
Armantrout told deputies he was awoken by his son around 2 a.m. on Friday (July 7) saying that there was someone in the front yard trying to steal a trailer. He said he grabbed his gun and ran outside, which is when he spotted what appeared to be a truck hooked onto his trailer sitting outside his Sugar Mountain Road home.
Armantrout yelled to turn off the truck, but they did not, so he fired a warning shot into the air, documents state. He yelled at the people again, and eventually he started running toward the truck.
He told deputies that he had the gun pointed at the truck as he was running, and then he tripped and accidentally pulled the trigger. The gun went off and a bullet hit the truck and then hit a man standing outside the truck in the forearm.
Armantrout said he heard screaming, and then he heard a man say, “You shot me!” and another say, “It’s me, Jeff!”
Armantrout knew the two men, and he told police that he had given one of them permission to get the logs off the trailer in the front of the yard, but he didn’t expect them to show up at 2 a.m. to do it. He told police that he’s previously had things stolen from his property and thought someone was trying to steal his trailer.
After realizing what happened, the two men left the property to go to the hospital. Officers later spoke to the men, who corroborated Armantrout’s account of the incident.
He told deputies that he wasn’t afraid about personal harm, but was concerned about protecting his property.
Armantrout was arrested and taken to the Washington County Detention Center.
