LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – One individual has been arrested in Lewisburg following an incident in which a projectile was reportedly thrown at a fire truck while it was responding to an emergency.
In early July, police were contacted by the Lewisburg Fire Chief about a situation where an object, later identified as a Rayovac AAA battery, struck one of their trucks while they were en route to a medical emergency, after seeming to be thrown from a passing truck. According to a criminal complaint, firefighters recognized the truck that they believed threw the battery as one a member had recently sold.
The criminal complaint details that while the officer was driving in the area looking for the vehicle, another call was dispatched regarding two males throwing objects off the I-64 overpass, attempting to hit vehicles on the interstate.
While heading toward the overpass, the reporting officer saw the truck from the earlier incident heading east into Lewisburg on Washington Street and activated his emergency lights and initiated a stop.
According to the criminal complaint, there were three people in the truck at the time of the stop: the driver and two passengers.
While on the stop, another vehicle allegedly approached and waved down the officer to report that the items had been thrown at their vehicle from that truck on two separate occasions, once around the same time as the fire truck incident and again shortly before the stop.
The officer reports that the occupants of the truck denied the presence of any weapons or drugs, but denied a consent to search. A K-9 unit from Ronceverte was called to the scene to perform an open-air sniff of the truck. The K-9 reportedly alerted on the rear passenger door, after which a search was conducted.
During the search, police found a large Ziplock bag containing multiple tobacco pouches, vape pens and a bottle of Crown Royal Apple. All items were seized as all three occupants were under 21 years of age. After the truck was cleared, the three individuals were allowed to return to the truck.
A few days later, police were able to review dashcam footage from the vehicle that waved down the officer and the fire truck. Officers also reviewed security video from two local businesses. All of the footage reportedly corroborated all reports. Some of the footage allegedly showed one of the passengers, identified as Austin Harper, 18, of White Sulphur Springs, performing a “throwing motion” in the direction of the fire truck.
According to court records, Harper was arrested on Aug. 12, but at the time of publishing, he is not listed as an inmate at Southern Regional Jail. He is facing charges of destruction of property.
