BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — A Flintstone man was arrested Saturday after allegedly shooting a Morgan County sheriff’s deputy who encountered him during a home invasion of a Berkeley Springs area home, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department.
Melvin Gallion, 39, was being held without bond late Saturday at the Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg. The deputy, Bradley Mechem, was treated and released from War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs, Sheriff Johnnie Walter told the Morgan Messenger.
The incident unfolded as deputies responded to a 911 call reporting someone banging on the door of an Anderson Court residence east of Berkeley Springs about 7 a.m., the newspaper reported.
Walter said Gallion shot two dogs at the residence in front of a child who lived there, and when officers arrived, the suspect turned his 12-gauge shotgun on deputies.
Mechem was struck once above his eye and in his hand, the sheriff told the Morgan Messenger.
Officers returned fire and struck Gallion, who was transported to Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg for treatment.
The occupants of the home were able to flee unharmed, the sheriff said.
The incident remains under investigation by West Virginia State Police.