Former SW Indiana town marshal charged in deputy’s shooting

MOUNT VERNON, Ind. (AP) — A former town marshal has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a southwest Indiana sheriff’s deputy in the head last weekend, critically wounding him.

Paul Wiltshire, who was also shot when officers returned fire, was formally charged following his release Wednesday from a hospital, said Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle.

Wiltshire, 70, was being held without bond at the Warrick County Jail, the Evansville Courier & Press reported.

Online court records show Wiltshire is scheduled for an initial hearing on Monday, but they do not list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The former New Harmony town marshal allegedly opened fire from inside his home on Sept. 18, striking Posey County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Hicks in the head after the deputy and other officers responded to a call at Wiltshire’s New Harmony home.

A probable cause affidavit states that the shooting began when Wiltshire allegedly threatened to kill his wife and shoot “anyone who came to (the) residence.”

Hicks, 41, remains in critical but stable condition at an Evansville hospital, police have said.

Ringle told the Courier & Press on Monday that he would not release any updates on the deputy’s condition “unless something bad happens or something really good happens.”

His shooting was the first officer-involved shooting since at least 1994 in New Harmony, a historic Wabash River town about 180 miles (289.7 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.

The shooting occurred as New Harmony was hosting an annual German festival called Kunstfest.