Shooting DME

A Butler man has been charged with attempted homicide in the early Sunday shooting of another man in the city.

Garrett J. Graham, 24, was charged in the shooting of John Fox, 32, who, according to Butler police, was found with a gunshot wound to his leg in the backyard of a Fairview Avenue home following the 5 a.m. shooting.

Officers began lifesaving measures, applied a tourniquet and notified medical personnel, and Fox identified Graham as the shooter, police said. It is not known if Fox required additional medical treatment.

Investigators said the shooting had been reported in the 200 block of Robinson Avenue, patrol officers located spent rifle casing at multiple locations and said a neighbor had video footage of part of the incident.

The video recorded the sound of raised voices followed by several gunshots, and then recorded a gold-colored SUV traveling down Robinson Avenue toward Alpha Avenue, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by police. The vehicle — a Chevrolet Trailblazer — matched the description given to 911, police said.

Other neighbors reported seeing the SUV, and officers located it parked at the corner of Fairview and Michael Drive near the back door of 215 Fairview Ave., police said.

After seeing a spent rifle shell on the driver’s side floorboard, police surrounded the home, and Graham and a woman came outside.

Graham told police he was awakened by his dog barking and found Fox and a woman arguing outside, police said. Graham told police he has ongoing issues with Fox coming to his home uninvited in the middle of the night.

He told police that after Fox and the woman separated, he picked up his rifle and wanted to confront Fox. He drove down Robinson Avenue, encountered Fox and they exchanged words a block apart from each other, police said.

Graham told police he saw Fox reach toward his waistband and pull out a gun before he grabbed the rifle he had leaning against the front passenger seat in his vehicle and fired in the general direction of Fox, police said.

Police said Graham was adamant he fired only warning shots toward Fox’s feet or the area in front of his feet, and he told officers where the rifle and its magazines were located in the house. Police said they recovered the rifle, which had been partially disassembled, from inside a clothes dryer in the basement, a loaded magazine was found under a couch in the living room and two other magazines were found in a drawer.

In addition, police said a bullet struck a window of a home on Center Avenue and was recovered from the home. Police said the home was in Graham’s line of fire.

Graham has been charged with felonies attempted homicide and aggravated assault, and misdemeanors possession of a weapon and recklessly endangering another person. He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $350,000 bail. His preliminary hearing has not been scheduled.