BUCKHANNON — Two men have been arrested after a physical altercation on the Vicksburg Road Wednesday night ended in shots being fired near a crowd of people. No one was injured by the gunfire, police said.
According to Upshur County Sheriff Mike Coffman, the driver and passenger of a car involved in the incident have been arrested. A third backseat passenger had not been charged as of Thursday morning, although that person was located and questioned by law enforcement officers, the sheriff added. Coffman said the investigation is continuing.
“There was an altercation, and as a result of the altercation, these people that had firearms pulled them and fired several shots toward the crowd of people as they were exiting the scene,” Coffman said. “It was an ongoing altercation that was verbal, then turned physical, and then firearms were used.”
An individual at the scene had a medical issue, Coffman confirmed, but no one was injured by the gunfire.
Landon Kincaid, 19, of Buckhannon, was arrested Thursday morning and charged with one count of attempted murder, five counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm and one count of conspiracy, all felonies, according to magistrate court records. Savion Farmer, 20, of Buckhannon, was arrested for two counts of wanton endangerment with a firearm and one count of conspiracy.
According to the criminal complaints in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by investigating officer Cpl. Tyler Gordon with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, Kincaid, Farmer and a third male traveled together to a residence on Vicksburg Road to engage in a physical altercation with another male and his acquaintances.
When confronted by residents of the dwelling, Kincaid and Farmer allegedly presented firearms in the form of semiautomatic handguns.
“One victim … stated that when ordering Kincaid to leave the property, Kincaid presented a small handgun and pulled the trigger three times in the direction of the victim’s chest and neck area, but the firearm did not discharge,” Gordon wrote in the complaint. “[The victim] believes that if the firearm would have discharged, he would have been killed.”
“Seconds later, Kincaid was able to charge a loaded round into the firearm and began recklessly firing the handgun out of the driver’s window of his vehicle as they sped away recklessly toward the City of Buckhannon,” Gordon wrote.
According to the complaint, Kincaid fired at least five rounds in the direction of several victims at three addresses on the Vicksburg Road. Five fired .22-caliber cartridges were found in and near the roadway, and the trajectory was determined by gouge marks made by two of the rounds.
Farmer fired at least two shots, his complaint says. The .40-caliber fired cartridges were found in the roadway near the intersection of Vicksburg Road and Marion Street.
“Farmer subsequently was located, tested presumptively positive for gunshot residue, and admitted to firing the handgun multiple times,” the complaint states. “Farmer stated he fired the firearm in the air.”
The complaints also said numerous witnesses gave descriptions of the occupants of the car.
Bond for Kincaid was set at $300,000 and bond for Farmer was set at $150,000, both cash only, by Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder.
The potential penalty for attempted murder is imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than three nor more than 15 years.
The potential penalty for wanton endangerment with a firearm is confinement in the penitentiary for a definite term of not less than one year nor more than five years, or in the discretion of the court, confinement in the county jail for not more than one year, a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $2,500, or both.
The potential penalty for conspiracy is confinement in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than five years, a fine of not more than $10,000, or, in the discretion of the court, both confinement and a fine.
Read a press release from the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office regarding the incident by clicking here.
