Rifle

waynesboro@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents are looking for a rifle bought in Franklin County, Pa., that fires the same caliber ammunition as one used in the Maryland-area sniper killings, a state police spokeswoman in Harrisburg said Wednesday. State police in Chambersburg said there was no link between the sniper killings and the 45-year-old Chambersburg man who bought a .223-caliber rifle in a Fort Loudon sporting goods store in early September.

Sharpsburg-area residents and others plan to hold a meeting Saturday at Sharpsburg Town Hall to discuss the way Maryland State Police handled a search for illegal firearms last month at a man's home on Mills Road, one of the organizers said Monday. Sharpsburg Vice Mayor Bryan Gabriel said the noon meeting also would be a way for residents to show support for 46-year-old Terry Porter, who could not be found when police entered his property at 4433 Mills Road on Nov. 29. Porter surrendered to authorities a day later.

By AMY WALLAUER Staff Writer, Martinsburg HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - A piece of Harpers Ferry history has made its way back to the historical town after a Cooperstown, N.Y., family found a priceless artifact in an attic. For 100 years, a rifle used by John Brown in the 1858 raid on the U.S. Armory and Arsenal had been tucked away, along with a letter from 1870 virtually guaranteeing its authenticity. Historians at the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park call the find remarkable.

Cops charge man with firing rifle into house By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI / Staff Writer SMITHSBURG - A Smithsburg man was served with a criminal summons Friday in connection with the firing of a rifle into a Washington County home during a party in July, Maryland State Police said. Trooper 1st Class M.D. Kretzer said Domer Ulery, 45, of 10 S. Main St., Smithsburg was charged with reckless endangerment and first- and second-degree assault. Kretzer said Ulery attended a party the evening of July 22 at the home of Robin Wolfe on Raven Rock Road in Smithsburg and brought along several guns that he attempted to sell to partygoers.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Investigators believe Monday's fatal hunting accident in Tomahawk happened when a hunter tripped and fell, causing his rifle to fire into his friend's chest. Michael Z. Butts, 39, of Hedgesville, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest while turkey hunting in a wooded area south of the Greenwood Acres subdivision near W.Va. 7, Division of Natural Resources spokesman Hoy Murphy said. Max Bartgis, 62, of Hedgesville, was hunting with Butts around 9 a.m. when Bartgis apparently tripped and a bullet from his .222-caliber bolt-action hunting rifle hit Butts in the chest, Murphy said.

Police say a Hagerstown man fired a rifle early Saturday during a confrontation on Eldridge Drive, according to Washington County District Court records. James Michael Devine, 56, of the 900 block of Eldridge Drive, was charged with three counts each of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, court records show. He was also charged with the Hagerstown municipal infraction of discharging a weapon within city limits. The incident happened before 1 a.m. Saturday, according to charging documents filed by Hagerstown Police Officer Casey B. Constable.

Six local members of the 4-H shooting sports program competed in the Maryland 4-H State Smallbore Rifle Match in September in Marriottsville, Md. Youths from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Washington counties participated. Representing Washington County were Ryan Deal, Danae Deal, Matt Leatherman, Stacie Leatherman, Doug McAllister and Seth Marvil. Individual Proficiency Awards were earned by Ryan Deal, Stacie Leatherman and Doug McAllister.

A Smithsburg man was sentenced Tuesday to serve five months in jail for a shooting incident last June in which he fired several rounds from a rifle at three juveniles. Mark Allen Timmons, 38, of 13745 Frazier Road, pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court to two counts of reckless endangerment. Judge Kennedy Boone sentenced Timmons to five years in prison, suspending all but five months of that term. Timmons was given credit for time served. On June 17 at 5 p.m., three juveniles were working on a snowmobile near Timmons' mobile home, according to court records.

To the editor: Just as Kentucky and Tennessee had their Daniel Boon and Davy Crockett, Maryland had its Meshach Browning. Meshach's life remains somewhat unique because all his hunting adventures and life were centered in one area - Western Maryland. Hunting to Meshach was both a profession and hobby. With his flintlock rifle (on display at the Smithsonian in Washington) and hunting knife, Meshach harvested, by his own estimates, close to 2,000 deer, 400 bears, 50 cougars and panthers, and scores of wolves.

A 32-year-old Hagerstown man was shot and killed early Sunday after he entered a Youngstoun Court apartment armed with a rifle, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Department. Read the full story in Monday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

The Franklin County, Pa., district attorney said he has investigated and cleared Pennsylvania State Police of any wrongdoing in the Labor Day shooting of a man in St. Thomas Township. Police fatally shot Philip E. Rank, 47, when he fled his house at 599 St. Thomas-Williamson Road during a standoff Monday. When troopers attempted to serve an arrest warrant on an aggravated assault charge that morning, Rank barricaded himself in the home for five hours. During negotiations, Rank said he had two semiautomatic rifles and 75 rounds of ammunition, and he claimed to have his scope trained on a trooper, District Attorney Matt Fogal said in a statement this weekend.

More than 500 people turned out Saturday for the first day of the Gun & Outdoor Sportsman Expo at Hager Hall Conference & Event Center, according to organizers. Leah Ryder said she and fellow Hager Hall Sales Manager Jacinta Ingream were “a little leery” about turnout, because a large gun show is being held in Philadelphia this weekend. But they were pleased that more than 50 vendors still decided to take part in the Hagerstown show. The show, which features hunting, archery, gun and knife vendors, children safety activities, including free fingerprinting ID kits, continues Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $7. A deer-hunting rifle and a gun rack for an all-terrain vehicle will be given away at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, said Ryder, who thanked Hendershots Sporting Goods Inc., and Twiggs Cycles in Hagerstown for supporting the giveaways.

Two men were arrested, and marijuana, guns, ammunition and $4,000 in cash were seized Monday by the Washington County Narcotics Task Force during a search of a Papa Court house, according to Washington County District Court records. Anthony Morrisey, 36, of Asbury Park, N.J., was charged with possession of a large amount of marijuana, being a convicted felon in possession of firearms, possession of a firearm in a drug-related offense and false statements to police, court records said.

National Rifle Association President David Keene is unhappy about the gun-control measures passed Wednesday in by the House of Delegates in Maryland. “I'm a Maryland resident, so I'm not very enthused by the way Gov. (Martin) O'Malley has gone about all this. The so-called assault weapons ban he's tried to impose in Maryland and he's now gotten through the legislature is something I don't think will stand up to constitutional challenge,” Keene said in an interview with The Herald-Mail.

A Senate committee hearing on Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill that seeks to ban assault rifles attracted hundreds of gun-rights supporters to the state capital on Feb. 6, with some of the supporters testifying against the bill. A House Judiciary Committee hearing is scheduled for March 1. In the meantime, advocates on both sides are seeking to amplify their arguments. O'Malley's office said in a recent blog post that responsible gun owners support common-sense legislation.

A witness testified that police did not find machine gun-style weapons or 10,000 rounds of ammunition when they searched the home of a Sharpsburg man last fall, but Terry Porter's case will be heard in Circuit Court after a Washington County District Court judge bound him over on 14 firearms charges. District Judge Mark D. Thomas found there was probable cause for the case of Terry Allen Porter to proceed to Circuit Court. Porter, 46, of 4433 Mills Road, is charged with seven counts each of possession of rifles or shotguns by a convicted felon and possession firearms after being convicted of a disqualifying offense, court records said.

Sharpsburg-area residents and others plan to hold a meeting Saturday at Sharpsburg Town Hall to discuss the way Maryland State Police handled a search for illegal firearms last month at a man's home on Mills Road, one of the organizers said Monday. Sharpsburg Vice Mayor Bryan Gabriel said the noon meeting also would be a way for residents to show support for 46-year-old Terry Porter, who could not be found when police entered his property at 4433 Mills Road on Nov. 29. Porter surrendered to authorities a day later.

The Sharpsburg-area man who was the subject of a massive search by police Thursday afternoon and who turned himself in to Maryland State Police on Friday, was released Friday after posting bond, according to Central Booking. Terry Allen Porter, 46, of 4433 Mills Road, was charged with seven counts of possession of a firearm after conviction of a drug felony and seven charges of possession of a shotgun or rifle after conviction on a disqualifying offense, Assistant State's Attorney Leon Debes has said.

A man spotted running near two Martinsburg schools on the first day of classes in August while carrying a training rifle and dressed in camouflage pleaded no contest to public intoxication and disturbance of a school Wednesday in Berkeley County Magistrate Court. William E. “Billy” Alemar, 23, was sentenced to seven days in jail, which he already served after being arrested on Aug. 20, fined a total of $15 for the two misdemeanor offenses and was ordered to pay court costs. Alemar also is expected to complete his current course of treatment for post-traumatic stress as part of the plea agreement.

Thousands of men donning blue and gray advanced and retreated Sunday afternoon as the sounds of rifle fire exploded across a farm near Boonsboro. The battle re-enactment off Monroe Road was accompanied by the sounds of laughter and adults explaining what was going on to children and other adults. Unlike Saturday's battle re-enactment for the “Maryland, My Maryland” event, Sunday's re-enactment of an afternoon portion of the Battle of Antietam was held under clear skies, with no rain postponing the event.