Some charges dismissed for officer

Dodson off duty when allegedly shot victim at DuBois nightclub

CLEARFIELD -- Some of the charges against an off-duty police officer accused of shooting a man at a nightclub in DuBois last month were dismissed after a special preliminary hearing Thursday in Clearfield County Court.

Zachery Allen Dodson, 27, was charged with four counts of aggravated assault, two felony counts of terroristic threats, two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, and three misdemeanor counts of simple assault in relation to an incident that occurred just before 1 a.m. on Feb. 19.

At the time, Dodson was a police officer with the Curwensville Borough and he was also a deputy in the county sheriff's office.

The nightclub's owner, Joseph Morrison of Invictus, said that Dodson was pushing, then pounding, on windows when he noticed him that night. Dodson was also yelling, he testified.

Morrison said he asked him to leave and escorted him out.

When Dodson's attorney William A. Shaw Jr. asked if it was possible that Dodson thought those windows were actually a door, Morrison said that might be what he was trying to do, but at the time, he did not perceive it that way.

Another man, Ani Myrtaj, got between them and told Morrison he was "handling it."

Several minutes later, Dodson came back inside while Morrison and Myrtaj were near the door.

Morrison testified that he told Dodson he was not coming back in, and told him to leave. At this point, Dodson started backing up and reached for a gun.

In the video surveillance footage shown at the hearing, when Dodson walked in, he was holding a cellphone to his ear with his right hand. He switches hands and pulls out the gun. Morrison said Dodson pointed it at him.

Morrison said Myrtaj saw the gun first and started waving his arms. After Myrtaj went toward Dodson, Morrison said he was able to grab Dodson's right wrist and shoulder in an effort to get him down.

The gun went off before this happened, Morrison said.

He testified he wasn't sure if the gun went off accidentally or not, but at the time he thought Dodson was attempting to shoot him.

Morrison pinned Dodson down, took the gun and removed the magazine and a round from it. He then took Dodson outside where he kept him until police arrived.

After officers arrived on the scene, Morrison went back inside and realized Myrtaj had been hit.

Cody Strouse, the paramedic who treated Myrtaj, said he had a wound to his upper lip, lost some teeth and had another injury near his ear.

Cpl. Matthew Robertson of the DuBois City police testified that the victim's jaw is now wired shut and he has bone fractures in his skull.

In closing arguments, co-defense counsel, Stacy Parks Miller, said the video shows that Dodson was not intending to harm anyone and that Morrison actually had control of Dodson's arm when the gun went off.

"It is clear the gun went off during the struggle" and the only thing Dodson did on purpose was pull the gun out, she said.

She admitted Dodson's behavior was reckless but stated it did not rise to the level of an aggravated assault charge, which requires intent to cause serious bodily injury.

District Attorney Ryan Sayers countered this by saying that Dodson's intent is clear when he draws the weapon, which was to shoot Morrison.

Senior District Judge Carmine W. Prestia, specially presiding, took a few minutes to review the evidence before ruling to dismiss two of the counts of aggravated assault, one of the counts of terroristic threats and one count of recklessly endangering another person.

The other charges were bound over for county court.

Dodson's bail, which he had been denied earlier, was set at $50,000.