A Mt. Pleasant Township man who was arrested last month after allegedly barricading himself in a camper with a handgun and firing at state troopers was charged Friday for allegedly threatening two area residents during the incident.
Timothy B. Minerd, 47, of Mt. Pleasant, shot at the ground in front of troopers before retreating into the camper on Jan. 20, according to a police report.
The troopers responded to Minerd’s property as they were investigating a hit-and-run crash on Blacksmith Road. Two witnesses of the crash, which brought down utility lines, said they drove to Minerd’s house afterward and reported they were nearby when Minerd repeatedly fired the weapon, Trooper Joseph Lauricia wrote in court papers filed before Norvelt District Judge Roger Eckles.
After the shots fired at about 12:30 p.m., police set up a perimeter and called in the Special Emergency Response Team. Local fire departments shut down the road.
Minerd was arrested and nobody was injured, according to police.
He is now charged with three counts each of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, making terroristic threats and one count of fleeing the scene of an accident. He was remanded to the Westmoreland County Prison on $250,000 bond.
Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.
