Police: Shots fired at men cutting grass in Armstrong County

An Armstrong County man accused of firing half a dozen rounds at two men cutting grass near his Plum Creek home on Monday was found to be growing marijuana there, according to state police.

Police said they investigated a report of someone firing shots at two landscapers as they cut grass in the area of 135 Hillview Lane around 11 a.m.

One of the landscapers told police he was in an off-road vehicle when he heard three gunshots and then, a short time later, three more gunshots went by him and struck the dirt around him, according to court documents.

That landscaper said he hid for cover until he didn’t hear any more shots, then got back in his vehicle and drove away. He called the other landscaper to tell him they were being shot at and to get out of the area, court documents said.

Police said investigators traced the gunshots to Joseph Michael Riederer, 31, who lives at the Hillview Lane address near where the landscapers had been working.

Riederer told investigators he had been out in the woods target shooting at a stump. He denied being in the area where the men claim he was shooting at them, police said.

While at Riederer’s home, police said they saw marijuana plants and processed marijuana. A search warrant served at the residence later that day turned up 76 marijuana plants, processed marijuana, materials used to grow marijuana plants and three guns.

He faces drug and assault charges. No attorney was listed for him. He was being held in Armstrong County Jail on Tuesday afternoon after failing to post a combined $100,000 bond. Preliminary hearings are set for June 11.

Staff writer Brian Rittmeyer contributed.