Hempfield man accused of shooting woman in left ring finger

A Hempfield man is accused by police of shooting a woman in her left ring finger Wednesday then dropping her off at a hospital, according to court papers.

Timothy John Luchon, who turned 39 Wednesday, is charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, simple assault, child endangerment and tampering with evidence.

State police said they were called to UPMC East Hospital at 3:30 p.m. where the woman reported being shot during an argument with Luchon at a Rocky Mountain Road home. Her finger was severely injured and she was transferred to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital for treatment, according to court papers.

Police said Luchon drove the woman to the the hospital after the shooting and fled. When troopers caught up with him, Luchon first claimed the gun fired when the woman dropped it, but later admitted to having the weapon in his possession, according to court papers. He told police he put peroxide on the firearm and put it in the attic.

Police said two children were home at the time of the shooting.

Luchon was arraigned on those charges Thursday along with a second complaint stemming from a Dec. 11 incident that police said prompted a lockdown at AHN Hempfield Neighborhood Hospital. Troopers said Luchon was driving around the Route 30 hospital at 4 a.m. and appeared to be intoxicated while the same woman was inside being treated.

The woman told investigators that Luchon punched her in the stomach two days earlier and she went by ambulance to the hospital for treatment. Luchon, who had left prior to police arriving at the hospital, admitted to using methamphetamine when troopers interviewed him at his home, according to court papers. He is accused of leaving two children home alone.

He is charged with child endangerment, harassment and disorderly conduct. Luchon is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $50,000 bail in each case. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. Preliminary hearings are set for Jan. 22.

He pleaded guilty in August to a summary public drunkenness count stemming from a June incident in Arona, according to online court records. He paid $173 in costs and fees.