Sept. 19—A Somerville man accused of firing a 12-gauge shotgun during a brawl in a Lacey Springs church parking lot last week has been released from jail, according to documents filed Tuesday in Morgan County Superior Court.
David William Vanderpool, 41, is charged with two counts of shooting at a vehicle occupied by a car, a class B misdemeanor, stemming from the September 11 incident, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said.
Vanderpool was found two days after the alleged shooting and booked into the Morgan County Jail, the Sheriff’s Office said. Court records show he was released from jail the same day on $10,000 bond.
Officers responded to a report of a shooting at 176 Darden Drive in Lacey’s Spring on Wednesday night and found a bloodied man and his fiancee, according to details revealed in MCSO Investigator Erica Delgado’s sworn statement filed Tuesday.
“The male victim told officers the incident occurred at the home of a man who had been caught touching his 13-year-old daughter approximately two weeks earlier,” Delgado said in the statement.
The alleged male victim told officers that he had seen the alleged groper earlier that evening while he was waiting for pizza with his fiancee at a gas station on U.S. 231, the affidavit said. The victim then walked up to the man’s vehicle and “threw a punch” before returning home, apparently believing the man was calling police.
The victim later saw a Chevrolet Suburban driving slowly past his home. He told officers he recognized the vehicle as that of a friend of his — a friend who shares the same last name as the alleged groper, the affidavit said.
The victim told officers that the Suburban drove away as he stepped out his front door, and that he then got into his vehicle with his fiancee and followed it, the affidavit said. Eventually, both vehicles pulled into the parking lot of Highland Baptist Church, about 2 miles northeast of Union Hill.
The victim told officers he immediately began fighting outside the vehicles with the person he believed was his friend, the affidavit said.
The victim then “thought he heard a gunshot come from the Suburban, and when he looked up he saw what appeared to be the barrel of a shotgun,” the affidavit said.
The alleged groper then exited the Suburban and joined in the fight, the affidavit said. A third man, identified as Vanderpool, then reportedly exited the Suburban with a shotgun in his hand.
The victim told officers that Vanderpool approached him during the fight and “was struck in the head with the shotgun.”
In a state of bewilderment after the alleged attack, the victim told officers he drove home believing he had been shot and asked his fiancée to call 911.
The victim “was transported to the hospital in Huntsville and was released several hours later with minor cuts and bruises, but no gunshot wounds,” the statement said.
Court documents show Vanderpool is accused of shooting at the victim’s car while her fiancé was in the car.
According to court documents, Vanderpool had not yet retained or been assigned an attorney as of Wednesday, and his initial court appearance had not yet been scheduled.
— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.
