A Wolcott man faces felony and misdemeanor charges after deputies said he choked and shoved a domestic-incident victim, prevented an emergency call and confronted a deputy while holding a shotgun.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a Larkin Road residence in the town of Wolcott at about 9:54 p.m. Sept. 3 and found Brett D. Shaffer, 38, at the end of the driveway with a Stevens Model 320 12-gauge pump-action shotgun.
Shaffer allegedly yelled at a deputy that he had a gun while pointing the firearm into the air, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said they gave Shaffer several commands before he placed the shotgun on the ground and was taken into custody without further incident.
Investigators accused Shaffer of choking, pushing and shoving the victim and preventing the victim from using a phone to call for help. The Sheriff’s Office said the alleged conduct violated an order of protection.
The victim was treated at the scene by Fair Haven Ambulance for minor abrasions and contusions and released.
Shaffer was charged with six counts of second-degree harassment, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, endangering the welfare of a child, fourth-degree criminal mischief, first-degree criminal contempt and menacing a police or peace officer.
The Sheriff’s Office classified the criminal contempt charge as an E felony and the menacing charge as a D felony. The obstruction, endangering and criminal mischief charges are class A misdemeanors, while the harassment counts are violations.
Shaffer was taken to the Wayne County Jail pending arraignment in centralized arraignment court.
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