By Keith Epps
The Free Lance-Star
STAFFORD, Virginia — A Stafford deputy who was shot four times after responding to a call late Tuesday was recovering from surgery Thursday in a Richmond hospital.
Sheriff David Decatur said he visited the deputy and was pleased with what he saw.
“He seems to be doing as well as he could be considering what he went through,” Decatur said. “The hope is that he will have a full recovery.”
Decatur has not released the deputy’s name, but court records identify him as Brandon Boyle, who has worked as a patrol deputy in Stafford for about two years.
Meanwhile, a preliminary hearing for the man accused of shooting Boyle has been set for July 19.
Joshua Anthony Sumter, 18, of Meadows Drive in southern Stafford is charged with numerous offenses, including four counts of attempted capital murder, aggravated malicious wounding and four firearms offenses.
In addition to being accused of shooting Boyle, Sumter is accused of trying to kill Stafford deputies Karl Warnick, David French and Daniel Purcell.
He is also accused of assaulting Sgt. Dale Colona during an attempted escape following his arrest, court records show.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the deputies went to a home on Windsor Ridge Court off Forbes Street about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a call from Sumter’s mother.
Police were told that Sumter was breaking into a home that he had been barred from. The home belongs to Sumter’s father.
The deputies went upstairs and saw a man lying on a bedroom floor. After they challenged him, the man opened fire, striking Boyle four times.
A shot to Boyle’s chest was stopped by protective body armor he was wearing, possibly saving his life, police said.
The suspect got out of the house during the ensuing commotion, but was apprehended about 5:45 a.m. Wednesday at the nearby Thomas Jefferson Place townhouse complex.
The Public Defender’s Office was appointed Thursday to represent Sumter, who is being held without bond in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
Copyright 2016 The Free Lance-Star