ROCKINGHAM — A businessman accused of shooting at two Ellerbe firemen earlier this month is now facing more serious charges.
Online court records show Timothy Lee Hayden was indicted on two counts of attempted first-degree murder on Sept. 15.
As of Sept. 19, no documents related to the indictment had been attached to the case in eCourts.
It does not appear an order for arrest has been issued related to the indictment.
Hayden is accused of firing multiple rounds from an AR-15-style rifle at Jeremy Scott and Jerry Shepard who were reportedly responding to a fire alarm at his Green Lake Road home during the 3 0’clock hour on Sept. 1.
According to a probable cause affidavit for a search warrant, the fire alarm call came in at 3:08 a.m. and shots were fired upon Shepard and Scott’s arrival at 3:26 a.m.
Firefighters and a deputy were treating Shepard, who had reportedly been shot in the leg, when another deputy “noticed a subject standing next to the gate,” according to the affidavit.
The deputy described the subject as a white male with a blue shirt “and a stance with his elbow up conducive to a person holding a long gun.”
The subject, later identified as Hayden, “retreated to cover behind a metal fence and reappeared from the end of the fence in the woodline,” the affidavit states.
When the deputy gave Hayden verbal commands to drop the weapon, “the suspect turned around and walked back toward the house” and went inside, the narrative continues.
“Deputies then maintained security of the residence until the suspect … was talked out of the residence and taken into custody,” reads the affidavit, which adds that a neighbor called Hayden to talk him out of his home.
The search warrant for Hayden’s home was issued by Superior Court Judge Dawn Layton at 6:46 a.m., received at 7:04 a.m. and executed at 8:18 a.m.
According to the warrant, deputies recovered and seized: a Daniel Defense DDM415R multi-caliber rifle with one live round in the chamber; two magazines containing 52 live rounds; and seven spent shell casings.
Hayden was initially charged with two counts of assault on emergency personnel with a firearm, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and resisting a public officer.
He was held in the Richmond County Jail without bond until a hearing on Sept. 9, when it was set at $875,000 secured.
Online court records show multiple properties listed for accommodation. Several properties have a specific address listed: 112 Carolyn’s Mill; 1019 Green Lake Road; 1023 Green Lake Road; 405 Green Lake Road; and 25 AC County Home Road. One is just listed as “Jessica Road property” and another is listed as “house and land” with no specific address.
(NOTE: Some records show the spelling of “Greenlake Road.” However, according to Richmond County Emergency Services, the accurate spelling is “Green Lake Road.”)
District Court Judge Chistopher Rue also set the following bond conditions for Hayden:
Hayden posted bond on Sept. 10. A disposition hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2. There is no court date listed regarding the indictment.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Scott and Shepard were awarded for their bravery during a ceremony in Ellerbe on Sept. 6.
Fire Chief Will Barber told the RO on Friday that the department “hopes justice will prevail.”
“I do believe he intended to kill two firemen and I do not believe being drunk is a defense,” Barber said. “(He) was sober enough to shoot, sober enough not to talk when questioned(,) so we hope he will be off the streets for as long as the law allows.”
