By KYLE BLOYD
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
A Westfield man faces charges after being accused of attacking street workers who tried to get him to slow down while they were working.
Weir
Austin Weir, 38, faces five felony counts in the case.
- Attempted murder
- Battery by means of a deadly weapon
- Battery resulting in moderate bodily injury
- Point a firearm (two counts)
According to court documents acquired by News 8, two Westfield Street Department workers were at the intersection of 196th Street and Grassy Branch Road on Monday night, trimming vegetation for visibility.
The victim, who said Spanish is his first language, spoke to a Noblesville Police Department detective who is fluent in Spanish after being transported to a hospital.
He said a driver in a black pickup truck was driving fast in the area and motioned to the driver to slow down. The victim said the driver slowed down and told him to “get the f— out of my way.”
He said the driver then stopped in the oncoming traffic lane, got out of his truck, exchanged more words, then got a handgun out of his truck.
The victim told officers that the suspect chased him, pistol-whipped him in the head, wrestled with him on the ground, then was standing over him with the gun pointed at his chest. During the struggle, the victim said he saw a magazine and bullet fall from the gun.
While standing over the victim, the suspect pulled the trigger but the gun did not discharge. The victim said the gun was then pointed at his head when the suspect pulled the trigger again. After two failures to discharge, the victim said the suspect realized there was a problem and tried to reload the handgun.
The victim said the second street worker was yelling at the suspect, who then got in his truck and drove away.
The street worker who was pistol-whipped was bleeding from the head when police spoke to him, according to court documents.
The second street worker corroborated the events to police, adding that the suspect said “f—— n——” as he got into his truck and drove away.
Later that night, police were sent to Scofield Ridge Boulevard and Hayward Way after it was believed that the suspect vehicle was located.
Police found a man matching the description provided by the victims. When police asked who owned the truck, the man, identified as Weir, responded, “I don’t have to answer that.”
According to court documents, Weir started acting “very fidgety” and was “moving his hands around.” A police officer pulled his gun and ordered Weir repeatedly to put his hands up before he finally did.
Police did a patdown and found a 9mm handgun in Weir’s waistband, according to court documents.
Police say Weir then told them “he had the gun to protect his family” and that “he was attacked today by two subjects carrying weed eaters, and he had to fight them off.”
Online court records indicate Weir has an initial appearance scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.