Jun 29, 2017 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – Officer Charles Sochor testified Thursday he shot Julius Hurt once in the ankle after the suspect raised a firearm and pointed it directly at his chest while the officer chased the man through Waynesburg last month.

The part-time Waynesburg police officer testified at Hurt’s preliminary hearing for attempted homicide and other charges he saw Hurt pull a weapon out of his back waistband after he instructed him to “drop the weapon” multiple times during the May 3 encounter that left the suspect with a gunshot wound to his right leg.

Hurt, who posted his $50,000 bond last week and arrived to the hearing wearing a cast and using a walker, was held for court on all charges, including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, receiving stolen property, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and two counts each of carrying a firearm without a license and illegal possession of a firearm. District Attorney Marjorie Fox also successfully lobbied for Hurt’s bail to be increased, which District Judge Glenn Bates set at $200,000. Hurt, 32, of Waynesburg, was taken to Greene County jail after the hearing to await trial.

Sochor testified he was on patrol in the borough about 1:30 a.m. May 3 when he was dispatched to the area near Greene County Courthouse for the report of a man running down a nearby alley waving two handguns. He encountered Hurt, who was “fast walking” along Washington Street and Sochor asked to see his hands. Sochor said Hurt then pointed down the alley and said the man with guns had gone that way.

As Sochor followed Hurt toward High Street, he said the suspect raised his shirt to reveal two handguns in his waistband. While Hurt was in a High Street parking lot near PNC Bank, Sochor said the defendant pulled one of the guns from his pants and pointed it back at the officer’s chest while running away.

Sochor said he had ordered Hurt to drop his weapons multiple times before firing one shot that struck Hurt in the ankle. While on the ground, Sochor said Hurt raised his hands up and shouted at him not to shoot, before fighting with him and tearing his service belt.

The officer found one weapon on the ground and another wrapped in plastic and tape in his pants. Both weapons were “loaded ready to fire,” state police Trooper Tim Gilbert testified later at the hearing.

Meanwhile, state police Trooper Joseph Popielarcheck testified that both handguns were stolen and Hurt was not permitted to possess weapons because of two previous felony convictions.

He also testified that a witness, James Amenette, told officers that he saw Hurt at the Sunoco gas station on Greene Street before the shooting and that he was acting erratically. Amenette told investigators that he walked Hurt home because he was concerned about his wellbeing, and that Hurt allegedly told him “don’t worry about the cops, I’ll just shoot them.”

Another witness, Aaron Delaney, told police he was preparing to deliver Observer-Reporter newspapers when he saw Hurt waving a handgun in the alley by the courthouse, according to a written statement that Popielarcheck read aloud at the preliminary hearing. Delaney said he saw Hurt waving his hands “as if he was going to shoot the officer or pull something” and that Sochor repeatedly told him to drop a weapon. Delaney told the Observer-Reporter hours after the shooting that he did not see a weapon in Hurt’s hand during the encounter with Sochor, but that he “turned around real violently.”

Hurt’s public defender, Timothy Ross, tried to push back on the increased bail, saying his client was still undergoing treatment for his injured leg and had a doctor’s appointment schedule for next week. However, Bates called the charges “very serious” and set the higher bail.

“I have real concerns about this matter,” Bates said.

Hurt complained of the increased after just posting the lower bail amount and being released last week.

“You can’t just shoot a black man,” Hurt said while waiting to be taken to the jail. “I know I was acting crazy that night, but…”

Fox said she also plans to file a new attempted homicide charge indicating it was against a police officer, along with changing the aggravated assault count and adding another charge of receiving stolen property.

Hurt’s preliminary hearing at the Greene County Courthouse is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 17.