A Spencer man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with a domestic disturbance on Monday, Jan. 15, according to Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith.
A call from a woman alleging that a man shot into a vehicle at a Trent Store Lane home was received in the 911 center at 2:24 a.m. Monday, Smith said.
Senior deputies Matt Hodges, Andrew Kinney and Robbie Haynes all responded to the scene, and allegedly encountered a man in front of the residence wearing body armor. The man surrendered when confronted by the deputies.
Deputies learned that the man’s girlfriend was trying to leave with her 5-year-old child when multiple rounds were allegedly fired into her vehicle from both a rifle and a handgun in an attempt to keep them from leaving.
The woman sustained a gunshot wound to the head. She was airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. with non-life threatening injuries. The child was uninjured.
Multiple firearms were seized following the execution of a search warrant at the residence.
Dustin Lee Lawson, 23, of 504 Trent Store Lane, Spencer, was charged with two counts of attempted first degree murder, two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, malicious wounding, felony child endangerment, wearing body armor while committing a violent offense, and carrying a concealed weapon.
Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Austin and Investigator Linda Martin are leading the investigation. Special Agent Matt Wade with the Virginia State Police processed the crime scene.
Lawson is being held without bond in the Patrick County Jail.
