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Monday, May 20, 2013 | 6:14 p.m.

Posted: 10:28 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012

Alleged ringleader of shooting sparked by bath salts acquitted of attempted murder

By Bill Wadell

HUNTINGDON, Pa. —

A jury handed down a mixed verdict Tuesday night to the man accused of sparking a wild shootout fueled by synthetic drugs last May.

 

William Ledford was acquitted of felony attempted murder of the first degree, but was found guilty of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.

 

Authorities said Ledford was using bath salts in the basement of a Moore Street apartment with his friends, Dustin Scott and Joshua Lemin, last year, when the trio allegedly heard Jeremiah Shoop prying at the door and trying to get in.

 

According to investigators, the trio was paranoid as a result of using synthetic drugs and fired off more than 50 rounds in a matter of minutes, using an AK-47 rifle and a shotgun.

 

Detectives said the men were aiming at Shoop, but Lemin was the only person hit, and was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot to the arm.

 

Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a statewide ban on bath salts and other synthetic drugs several weeks after the shooting in Huntingdon.

 

Ledford and Scott went to trial together, but the judge later severed the cases and ordered a retrial.

 

Following the verdict, prosecutors asked for Ledford’s bail to be raised, but a judge released him on the $100,000 bail that was previously posted by his family.

 

Outside the courthouse, Ledford told 6News that he did not receive a fair retrial.

 

"There's a lot I want to say, but I'm advised not to,” said Ledford. “I just feel that it wasn't a fair shake and we need a new trial. It is what it is."

 

Ledford’s attorney said the court did not allow him to present a defense based on the claims that Ledford yelled at a man trying to break into his property before firing warning shots.

"This was a self-defense case. When you can't get that, even with the bath salts, I think we could have won this case had we gotten the self-defense instruction,” said attorney Tom Dickey.

 

Huntingdon County District Attorney George Zanic played portions of a recorded interview during the three-day trial to the jury, where Ledford was heard admitting to using bath salts to get high and firing off several rounds from the AK-47.

 

"If I could legally kill him…. I was going for a head shot. I was going to shoot the hell out of his legs and hope that he bleeds out… I shot Josh. It's my (expletive) fault.”

 

The judge said he is consulting officials before ruling on raising Ledford’s bail.

 

The 24-year-old is set to be sentenced in December and could serve five to 10 years in a state prison.

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